It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. At the beginning of the Yatra-2, the picture of children smiling with Rahul Gandhi in Manipur spoke volumes that words couldn’t convey.
Back in February 1983, when I went to cover the heinous communal killings in the town of Nellie in central Assam, a senior government officer in Guwahati told me, “Write your article from the perspective of the children in Nellie.” I did.
I knew that those children in Nellie who had witnessed brutal murders of their parents and loved ones and experienced the imminent fear of death would never forget what had happened, and it would haunt their lives.
As soon as I saw the pictures of Rahul in Manipur, I realized that the children who surrounded him might not forget that someone “important” had come from Delhi and held their hands when they were uncertain about what the next day would bring for them or their families.
Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra, starting from Manipur, was ostensibly inspired by the state’s political situation. The Congress had criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur even once since the situation of armed conflict arose eight months ago. It aimed to send a message. (Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the state once, but it wasn’t the same.)
It has to be explicitly stated that the Northeast is crucial. Manipur and indeed Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, which bear the brunt of Manipur’s ripple effects, are crucial. These states, working as sentinels on the border of India, have representation beyond their handful of Lok Sabha seats.
When a Naga elder says, “We fear that the Northeast will become a Hindu-dominated region, causing harm to Christians,” his words express concerns about polarization in Manipur between the Hindu Meiteis and the Christian Kukis in the Manipur Valley. The influence is expanding into the hilly regions, affecting a wide range of communities.
Starting the Rahul Yatra from the Northeast to reach the affected and vulnerable people could be a sensible move for Congress. However, the timing seems off. Instead of focusing on election preparation, the party has invested its efforts in planning/organizing the journey, which is still a few months away.
It can be argued that this journey, resembling a long rally covering 15 states and 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in the next two months, is not facilitating the seat-sharing process between Congress and its allies but creating more complications and concerns.
To effectively challenge the BJP/NDA, the opposition needs to unite through the grand alliance – Congress alone cannot achieve this. Its effectiveness will be measured by its ability to face off against the BJP/NDA on as many Lok Sabha seats as possible. However, Congress, by advancing without consulting its allies and without discussing plans for different states through the journey, has left its supporters dissatisfied.
The regional parties are not happy with the choice of the word “Nyay” (justice) to describe the journey. The concept of “social justice” (used in the context of Mandal or OBC empowerment) is more closely associated with regional parties than with Congress, and they feel it’s their issue. Apart from leaving out parts of the South in the past, OBC votes are no longer the support base for Congress, but Rahul is actively seeking their support by demanding a caste census (which did not work well in recent state elections).
Changing the name of the journey from Bharat Nyay Yatra to Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra might be part of this strategy. Rahul has tried to align the “Nyay” name with fighting against “injustice” under the RSS and BJP.
Rahul Yatra-2 also tells us that the party is more focused on the “future” (2029?) than the immediate electoral battle. It seems that within the oldest party in India, there are two Congresses. One, which Rahul wants to shape according to his perspective and leadership over time, and others who may see him as inexperienced or politically naïve. Then there are those who want the party to win the elections first, but they are profoundly influenced by the decisions Rahul makes. The problem is that Rahul’s decisions are highly personal and often made on a large scale without consulting the party – much like the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.