Rahul Gandhi’s yatra
With India seemingly turning into a one-party state at the federal level, Rahul Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s first prime minister, is hoping to breathe new life into the fading Indian National Congress party with the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. The yatra, or march, is aimed at paving over the rifts and divisions created by the fascist Hindutva politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Centre and in states that the party — by hook or by crook — now controls. Indeed, most of the slogans during the march have also focused on secularism and respect for the Constitution of India, unity among citizens, and anti-hate sentiments, although job creation and anti-inflation rhetoric have also featured prominently. The march has also helped Gandhi counter the BJP’s decades of propaganda to paint him as an out-of-touch elitist.
Opinion polls, especially those taken after Gandhi passes through an area, show his popularity skyrocketing. Unfortunately, after he and the party were rendered afterthoughts in the 2019 election, skyrocketing popularity is still a relative term. Most experts still believe Modi has the 2024 elections locked in, but Gandhi could make a massive dent in the BJP’s victory margin if he keeps the momentum up, and that in turn could help Congress at least become a legitimate opposition party again. While the BJP has an outright majority, India does not even have an official leader of the opposition because the title can legally only go to someone from a party with at least 10% of the seats in parliament.
At the start of the yatra, explaining his motivation, Gandhi, whose father Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, said, “I lost my father to the politics of hate and division. I will not lose my beloved country to it too.” A comeback for Congress is critical for India, but also important for other democracies. The rise of the BJP has illustrated how quickly fascist parties can tear up the democratic framework of a country.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2023.
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