Will Bharat Jodo Yatra translate into poll success for Congress in Telangana?

The Yatra came to Telangana at a time when the BJP is moving ahead to dislodge the Congress and claim a firm 'alternative to TRS' position

As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 12-day-long Bharat Jodo Yatra concluded in Telangana on Monday, the question surfacing is about the impact it will have in the state electorally.

Even as Rahul Gandhi was marching on in Telangana, drawing enthusiastic crowds, the Congress had on Sunday lost another Assembly constituency Munugodu to the TRS.

Having won 19 seats out of 119 in the 2018 polls, the party's present assembly tally is five. The Congress suffered two bypoll losses and the defection of 12 MLAs to the TRS.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra came to Telangana at a time when the BJP is moving ahead to dislodge the Congress and claim a firm “alternative to TRS” position in the run-up to Telangana assembly polls next year.

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The Telangana Congress leaders are nevertheless enthused by the yatra. “Like Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi yatra that accelerated the freedom movement and India attaining independence, our leader Rahul Gandhi's yatra will win over the divisive forces, and unite the people to face the challenges of unemployment, price rise,” former TPCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah told DH.

Ruling out a possibility of an alliance with the TRS, Rahul had called the TRS-BJP, “two sides of the same coin."

'Saw real Telangana'

On 23 October morning, the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Telangana at Krishna, near Karnataka's Raichur. After a three-day break for Diwali, the yatra resumed on 27 October and took another break on November 4.

By Monday evening, when the Telangana leg was accomplished, Rahul walked about 375 Kms through seven Lok Sabha and 19 assembly constituencies, including the coverage of the capital Hyderabad.

Apart from the Telangana Congress leaders, several prominent persons, celebrities, and social activists walked along with Rahul. Aggrieved sections like farmer suicide families interacted with him during the midday and night halts at designated camps along the route.

Rahul's sudden sprint on the highway competing with kids and TPCC chief Revanth Reddy, little cricket, wielding a traditional whip imitating “pothuraju” a revered folklore character in Telangana, and the kind act of offering water to a slumping woman, etc provided intermittent publicity on the TV news channels.

However, to the much chagrin of TPCC leaders like Revanth, the yatra was largely eclipsed by the news developments related to the high decibel Munugodu bypoll campaign, “TRS MLAs poaching” episode and on Sunday, the coverage on Telugu channels was entirely on Munugodu result.

“Telangana karyakartas worked tirelessly for the yatra. Even though the media has not focused, I have seen their effort,” Rahul said addressing the conclusion rally at Madnur near the Maharashtra border on Monday evening.

Rahul said the yatra helped him and other Congress leaders “see the real Telangana, the spirit of its people."

“Modi and KCR share similar attitudes. TRS and BJP both loot the people and benefit friends and families only,” Rahul said in the rally accusing the K Chandrashekar Rao government of privatizing education, and health sectors and taking an anti-farmer, anti-tribal approach, and the Narendra Modi government of targeting the Railways and other PSUs “to benefit some sections of the society.”