WALKING FOR THE SELF

Rahul Gandhi's multifarious attempts to take his idea of India finally bore fruit in the form of the Bharat Jodo Yatra earlier this year. In the process, he discovered a new self for himself and proposed a benevolent image for the nation

- Nishant

The year 2023 has been an eventful period for the former Congress president. In many ways, Brand Rahul has turned a corner in the pre-election year.

The year started with the conclusion of the most monumental of his efforts at reinventing himself and stamping his authority on the party that was facing a crisis of leadership and challenge from within and an assault from the outside by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). And, it had to be a padyatra, which harked back to the tradition of Mohandas Gandhi’s walks during the freedom movement. It had the signature of Rahul Gandhi on it, as it reversed the popular phrase “Kashmir to Kanyakumari” into “Kanyakumari to Kashmir”. This is no secret that Rahul finds southern India more amenable to his idea of India and sees it as a bulwark against the BJP’s conception of the country.

The Message in Walking

The yatra’s name, its route and messaging, and the goals it was meant to achieve operated at two levels.

First, the Congress and Rahul needed to reclaim nationalism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, something it had underplayed during the United Progressive Alliance era and later. That the Nehruvian legacy of modern nationalism stood in stark opposition to the BJP’s idea of right-wing nationalism and needed to be preserved and projected proactively dawned upon the Congress leadership after a long delay. But, when it did, the Bharat Jodo Yatra became its apt vehicle to the finish line.