Can Bharat Jodo Yatra revive Telangana Congress? That's not on Rahul's agenda

What stands out in the Telangana leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is that the entire exercise is not a political leader’s desperate attempt to rouse a demoralised party cadre with an eye on electoral gains. Especially in a state where the Congress party has lost two elections in succession.

Though the yatra entered Telangana in the middle of the campaign for the crucial Munugode Assembly by-election, there is nothing in Rahul’s demeanour to suggest that he is anxious to achieve electoral dividends for the party in the 2023 state Assembly election.  The Munugode bypoll, however, is highly crucial for the Congress, and political observers feel that a negative outcome could seal the party’s fate permanently in Telangana.

Yet, instead of talking about political gains, Rahul’s yatra seems to focus more on a larger goal of making India free from fear. It entered Telangana from Karnataka’s Raichur district on October 23 to a rousing reception and is scheduled to leave the state on November 7, from Madnoor in Kamareddy district for Nanded in Maharashtra.

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Though Telangana has witnessed many political yatras in the past two decades (including the pioneering Rath Yatra by the Telugu Desam founder, the late NT Rama Rao in 1982), what makes Rahul’s Yatra striking is the complete absence of emotional speeches, chest-thumping, abusive language, and criticism of political rivals.

There are no massive billboards, festoons, banners or posters along the yatra route. Rahul has no airs of being the scion of India’s biggest political family. Simply clad in pants and T-shirt and sporting a youthful pepper-salt beard minus any air of authority or arrogance, he is emerging as an endearing icon attracting thousands of people as he marches on. Post the Telangana bifurcation, Congress has never seen such a celebratory occasion.

#BharatJodoYatra witnessed whip wielding, practiced under the ‘Pothuraju’ tradition, usually performed during the Bonalu festival in Telangana .
Watch Shri @RahulGandhi try his hand at it. pic.twitter.com/iW7Vn1jWVT

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 3, 2022

By seamlessly mingling with the crowds, dancing with folk artists, and playing cricket with the boys while breaking the security cordon, Rahul presents himself as one among the common people. The complete lack of an air of intimidation around him clearly separates him from the other political bosses in the country.

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Many organisations, especially those connected to marginalised sections and farmers, joined the walkathon. For instance, the Rythu Swarajya Vedika, a non-political farmers’ organisation, gave a call to the public to join forces with Rahul.

Revival on the cards?

A debate in the Telangana Congress is bound to arise about whether the yatra can help revive it in the state — at present, it’s in poor shape. The party’s hopes to win electorally after it oversaw the division of Andhra in 2014 are dashed. The Congress has been rejected by the people twice in Telangana. Some of its tall leaders have passed away, while many middle-rung politicians have jumped ship either to the TRS or the BJP.

The traditional loyal families staunchly standing by the party have long disappeared. The castes which owned the party for over six decades have also distanced themselves from it and there are no signs of revival on the horizon. A defeat in the 2023 Assembly election is considered the end of the road for the party.  In this political backdrop, it is but natural to expect that the yatra will rekindle the hopes of a Congress revival. 

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But, noted Bahujan political scientist and author Professor Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd cautions against reducing the yatra into a mere event driven by the electoral revival of the party. Ilaiah on Wednesday (November 2) joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra and walked with Rahul for some time. He also interacted with him.

According to Ilaiah, the huge crowds that turned up all along the yatra route were there for Rahul’s speeches, his demeanour and his apparent lack of hunger for power, unlike other politicians of the day. Nor does he bay for the blood of political opponents.

‘Rahul, Buddha and Ashoka’

Ilaiah told The Federal: “Bharat Jodo is different from recent yatras by other political leaders in many ways. Rahul has undertaken this long march with a positive message of a fearless India given the present environment of hatred and bigotry. He is trying to introduce a moral dimension to the political culture without resorting to partisan politics. People have watched how his yatra for the past 50 days has been different. The character of Bharat Jodo is connecting him with the people. His yatra can be comparable to the great yatras of the Buddha and Ashoka, who also hailed from ruling families, in that they preached human equality, and a society without fear and discrimination after having gone through the phase of inequality and violence.”

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The yatra, Ilaiah felt, should transform Rahul into a moral leader of India and an alternative to the politics of bigotry and hatred, rather than a mere leader of the Congress.

It is the message that Rahul is spreading, rather than the party he is heading that is attracting many neutral intellectuals and personalities towards Bharat Jodo Yara to extend their support: retired Navy Chief Admiral Ramdas and wife Lalita Ramdas, actor Pooja Bhatt, farmers’ leader from Telangana Kanneganti Ravi, Dalit activist Sathaiah Kolluri, Sarabjeet Dhody Natesan, an economist from Chennai were among those who called on Rahul in Telangana.

Kanneganti Ravi, a farmers’ leader who called on Rahul as a part of the delegation, says many organisations including his own, which were opposed to the policies of the Congress-led government earlier, also joined the march because of the spirit of the yatra.

Question of intent

Ravi pointed out: “A lot of debate had gone into the decision to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. For over a month, many civil society organisations in Telangana had deliberated on the meaning of extending support to it.  The questions like whether joining the yatra would be tantamount to supporting the Congress party or the anti-people policies of Congress–led governments earlier were raised.”

However, he added, “Later, in view of the constricting political space and impending threat to democracy in the nation, it was decided to go with Rahul Gandhi as he made it clear that his objective was to build a nation free from fear, not the simple revival of the party.”

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Not only the activists and civil society organisations but even independent observers are also convinced that Rahul, by highlighting a social agenda, is going to create a positive impact on Indian politics.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is expected to impart the much-needed social and cultural identity to the Congress. Karli Srinivasulu, a former professor from Osmania University, said: “In post-Independent India, the Congress had started losing ground by eschewing the social reform agenda the pre-Independence Congress bequeathed it. The Aya Ram-Gaya Ram culture had weakened the organisation, which ultimately left a void in the national politics that was occupied by BJP.”

Further, he added, Rahul seems to have realised this and has embarked on a Bharat Jodo mission to add a moral dimension to the Congress agenda. It is bound to have a positive effect on the public, said Srinivasulu.

Moral leader vs political leader

Talking about the Yatra’s effect on the revival chances of Congress in Telangana, he said it all depends on whether Rahul transforms himself into a moral leader of India rather than a leader of the Congress party.

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“In Telangana, the party has lost its internal energy. To turn a situation into an opportunity the party needs internal energy in the form of a strong organisation and experienced leaders which is totally missing. But, once Rahul Gandhi evolves into a moral leader it automatically helps Congress attract all forces into its fold,” he said. Now, we have to wait and watch Rahul complete the yatra, he added. 

So far, the yatra seems to be successfully generating an unprecedented debate on the hitherto unknown side of Rahul Gandhi’s cool and composed leadership that cannot be brushed aside with ‘Pappu’ jokes or with other snide remarks.