Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Jan 14 2024, Sunday marks the start of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi which will be for approx 2 months starting from the politically disturbed state of Manipur. This is another Congress’s attempt to establish the agenda ahead of the Lok Sabha elections by drawing attention to concerns like social justice, unemployment, and rising prices.

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will pass through 110 lok sabha segments in 15 states covering 6,713 kilometers majorly by buses this time and daily walk to join people. The Yatra will cover 110 districts in 67 days, before reaching  Mumbai on March 20 or 21st 2024. During the yatra Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi will also address various  public gatherings and interact with civil society members and organizations twice a day during the yatra.

Purpose of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

The congress wants to use this Yatra to draw attention on the issues that affect general public, while the BJP is concentrating on the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22. Earlier, Congress top leadership has rejected the inviation of the Ram Mandir Trust to reach Ayodhya on January 22 for the Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya citing various reasons. Congress termed the event as BJP & RSS event and is allegedly apprehensive as this may affect their Muslim vote bank.

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra Route

Rather than the party’s original choice of Imphal, the yatra would be launched from a private venue in the Thoubal district of Manipur. The congress was granted conditional permission by the state government to start the yatra from the palace grounds here with a cap on the number of participants. Consequently, the congress chose to use a different location.

Since May of last year, ethnic violence in Manipur has rocked the state and cost over 180 lives.A ‘tribal solidarity march’ opposing the Meitei community’s quest for scheduled Tribe (ST) designation was organized in the hill areas on May 3, of last year which sparked the violence.

The party issued an itinerary for the Nyay Yatra accordingly they will spend most time in Uttar Pradesh 1027 kilometres spanning 11 days. It would also cross Amethi, Rae Bareili, the traditional Gandhi Family Stronghold though Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi to Smriti Irani in last general elections. Varanasi which is also the Parliament seat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi also be covered by the Congress Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra .

Congress President Mallika Arjun Kharge and the top leaders of the party would be in Thoubal to flag off the yatra and they have already left in a private plan this morning.

More Details of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Manipur will host the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra for a single day. After that, it will go 257 km across five districts in Nagaland before traveling 833 kilometers through  17 districts in Assam in 8 days. After that, the yatra would spend a day in each of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. According to the itinerary chart, the yatra would be in West Bengal for five days, covering 523 kms and seven districts. Though it would be interesting to see how TMC leaders respond to the same. Earlier at several occasions Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has targeted TMC and its leadership in Bengal. Latest issue was about the law situation after the ED team was attacked in Bengal.

Further it would reach Bihar and will cover it in four days, covering 425 km and 7 districts. In eight days, the yatra in Jharkhand will travel 804 kms via 13 districts. In Odisha, the yatra would travel 341 km and cover four districts in four days and cover 536 km and seven districts in Chhattisgarh over five days. The east-west yatra will travel through 20 districts and spend  most time in Uttar Pradesh. Another interesting part of the Yatra as Yogi Adityanath government response to this Congress event is yet not clear.

In seven days, the yatra in Madhya Pradesh will travel 698 kms via nine districts. In a single day, it will traverse two districts in Rajasthan. The yatra will go 445 kms in Gujarat and 479 kilometers in Maharashtra over five days each.

KK Shastri, the national coordinator of Congress social media highlighted that the priority is on areas not visited by the last Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Major Issues among INDI Alliance

All of the Indian National Inclusive Developmental Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) leaders have been invited by the congress to participate in the yatra at some point on its way. However the recent issues amongst the alliance leaders and the seat distribution issues are not yet resolved. Recently Nitish Kumar was snubbed by Mamta Banerjee and Mallikarjun Kharge was appointed the Chairman of bloc.

As per Latest news long time Congress leader Milind Deora also resigned from the primary membership of the party this morning. Udhhav Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra are already too weak after majority of their leaders left. Another issue in Uttar Pradesh to include BSP in alliance is a bone of contention between Samajwadi Party and Congress. AAP and Congress leaders in Punjab are loggerheads over seats distribution. Left and TMC are arch rivals and to include them in the alliance is major issue in Bengal. Kerala where Congress and Left are the major parties, the leaders are not supportive of the alliance as that will hurt their local election issues. Delhi is another area where Congress is decimated by AAP and how many seats Congress will settle for in Delhi for Lok Sabha is an interesting point to watch for.

Kamal Nath and Acharya Pramod Krishnam who have recently spoken against Congress refusal to attend Ram Mandir Pran Pratistha program shows the infighting within the party. Jharkhand is already in Political crisis after news of imminent arrest of Hemant Soren anyday in a scam case are doing the rounds. Odisha Naveen Patnaik has not joined the alliance and has shown no interest to go against Modi. After Telangana recent defeat BRS K. Chandrashekar Rao is already shattered and his change of name of the party to make it a National party seems going nowhere.

How Political Pundits see this Nyay Yatra

Looking at so many on going issues, does this Yatra prove useful for the alliance. Diverting time and resources at this crucial time according to experts is suicidal for the party. Being Rahul Gandhi top leader of the Congress, most leaders are supposed to join him at some point. Rather resolving issues within the Alliance as a top priority, Rahul Gandhi is going for a 2 months event right before the General Elections is a big gamble according to political experts.

Difference from the previous Bharat Jodo Yatra

To draw attention to the differences between the two Yatras, Shastri explained that the previous Bharat Jodo Yatra was a “pad yatra,” or foot march when Rahul Gandhi spoke on the subject of “Mohabbat ki dukaan,” or “shop of love.” The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in contrast, has a greater emphasis on “Nyay” (justice) and addresses the social, economic, and financial disparities that exist in the country. This time it will be majorly done by buses and some part with daily walks to connect the people with Rahul Gandhi meeting people and delivering speeches.

What Rahul Gandhi will do during the Nyay Yatra

Mumbai will host the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s conclusion on March 20 or 21st 2024. During the Yatra, Rahul Gandhi plans to speak twice a day to various groups on the way and engage with members and other organizations of civil society.”NYAY KA HAQ MILNE TAK” is the Yatra’s motto, though it is not clear what justice are they seeking. Rahul Gandhi has always been ambiguous in his speeches and is known not to stand on a issue for long. Earlier on the issue of Adani, Rahul Gandhi was quite vocal however after Adani met Sharad Pawar and Ashok Gehlot, he has not spoken a word against him. Reports also came as Sharad Pawar reportedly schooled Gandhi to refrain from talking about Adani.

Raising awareness of the injustices of the past ten years is the goal of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. At a news conference on Saturday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ will serve as a platform for the political party to discuss “societal, economic, and political” issues with the general public of India.

“We will take this opportunity to create public awareness on issues related to inflation, unemployment, farmers’ issues, poor condition of laborers, the increasing gap between rich and poor, and caste census,” Kharge stated.”Rahul ji will talk to various sections of society and organizations during the Yatra and discuss solutions to their problems,” he continued.

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