To Rahul, reclaiming the republic matters more than Gujarat polls

A question that baffles political pundits today is Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s absence through the recently concluded electoral campaign in Himachal Pradesh and the ongoing one in Gujarat. Unlike leaders of rival parties, Rahul had for long stayed away from the campaign in Gujarat, though he is now in the state — with just a little over a week before the first phase of polling in the state.

He is expected to address a few election rallies in the state, though this is going to be rather late in the day to make much of a difference. The top leaders of both the BJP and AAP — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal —  have been actively campaigning for weeks now. 

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The two are likely to continue this with even greater vigour till December 3, when electioneering for the last phase of polls ends. Voting will be held on December 1 and 5.

Precedence to yatra

However, Rahul, who has been on his Bharat Jodo Yatra since September 7, is to visit Gujarat only when the walkathon from Kanyakumari to Kashmir gets a weekly break for a day or two. So, the yatra is clearly being given precedence over polls in Gujarat. The exact reason for this would only be known to Rahul and his top party peers, but what is clear is that the Congress is out to reform politics, rather than postponing this any further for immediate electoral gains.

Though it may well devote more time in states going to polls next year or before the general elections in 2024, right now the grand old party appears to be more interested in catching people’s imagination through Rahul’s yatra rather than attempting to make its mark in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. 

It is more so since the Congress has been wary of the veracity and impartiality of the poll process after a series of electoral setbacks suffered by it and other opposition parties at the BJP’s hands.

Before starting his yatra, Rahul had pointed to the loss of most parliamentary seats (9 out of 11) in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh. These polls were held only a few months after the assembly elections in the state, where the Congress had won 68 out of 90 seats. In a meeting with members of civil society in Delhi in August this year, Rahul expressed his surprise over this turnaround, asking whether EVMs could be responsible for this.

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Only a few days ago, Rahul, while interacting with activists Medha Patkar, GG Parikh and others in Maharashtra, remarked: “Even if the EVM is secure, Indian elections may be rigged through social media. If large social media companies want, they can make any party win an election. Systematic bias is being applied there and my social media handles are a living example of it.”

Unequal field

So, the futility of jumping into an electoral fray when the terms of engagement may be unequal has been on Rahul’s mind for some time now. He has been claiming that institutions, including the Election Commission (EC) and the media, stand compromised.

The country has also been in perpetual election mode since Modi came to power at the Centre; and, besides other leaders and parties, Rahul and Congress too have been sucked into this. Thus, the Congress leader has eventually become not only sceptical but also quite reflective. He has been sharing his concerns with the myriad kinds of people he is meeting through the yatra to highlight the change in the value system that guides the public life of the responsible sections of society today towards the people at large.

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Lalita Ramdas, wife of former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas, has described this in an article as Rahul’s bid to “reclaim the republic” as per the norms set by the Constitution. Elections thus can well be only a part of the larger project that Rahul has undertaken through his yatra, where he is certainly making a comment on the state of things today. Though he may not be doing so in a very profound way, he is doing enough to make others think. This is how his yatra has been joined by several people who feel the need for a change.

Past connections

Rahul does not seem to be unduly bothered about the political import of his yatra among non-BJP parties. He and other Congress leaders have been critical of CPI(M), Janata Dal (S) and the TRS. His comments about VD Savarkar in Maharashtra have not been taken kindly by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Congress and the NCP in the state. What the Congress leader is seeking is course-correction in politics rather than immediate political or electoral gains.

By pointing out past connections between Savarkar, who founded the idea of Hindutva, and the British rulers of colonial times, Rahul tried to point out the difference between social democrats and revivalists since pre-Independence days. His effort has been against allowing these distinctions to get blurred in modern times to suit the majoritarian agenda of today’s rulers. 

Today, mediaeval times are being equated with the modern, leading to virtual short-circuiting of history. This is what Rahul has been warning against through his yatra and even since before that.

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Since Rahul is now finally about to visit Gujarat, the issues raised by him during the yatra are going to be tested out in the electoral arena. He’ll be watched keenly for the difference that he would be able to make in a state which has been modelled on the very ideas that the Congress leader has been challenging vehemently. But, whether he succeeds in Gujarat or not doesn’t apparently matter at this stage from either his or Congress’ viewpoint since the party is trying to win the war even if it loses the battle.

The real showdown will take place in 2024 and Rahul appears to be geared up more towards the general elections than the battle at hand in Gujarat.