The 145-day yatra across 4,000 km and through varied terrains, weather conditions and demographics has transformed Rahul Gandhi into an evolved and mature politician who empathises with all, talks with his heart and promises to be different. That is a rare profile for a politician in these times, and should give hope to those who cynically think that politics is the last refuge of the worst people.
While he may be a more enlightened person at the end of the peregrination, it is hard to tell how the wisdom and higher awareness could improve the fortunes of the Indian National Congress. Rahul Gandhi has denied that his yatra has anything to do with politics or the party. He has stuck to its ‘unifying’ theme and said that it was meant only to affirm love and unity in times of hatred and disunity. He struck a chord, no doubt, but the next leg of the journey is more difficult.
The Congress is in need of revival after successive electoral blows at the Centre and in the states, as seen in desertions, infighting, factionalism and loss of power and stature. What is good for Rahul Gandhi, who is the visible face of the Congress, should help the party too. But it will have to work hard to gain from the leader’s burnished image. Much of the yatra was about abstraction and general truths.
They will have to be translated into concrete ideas and policies and taken to the people, and the sentiments will have to be transferred to the voting machine. The political and electoral outreach of a party is much more complex than the personal communication of an individual on a solo trip. it can’t also be ensured that the yatra would help Rahul Gandhi or the Congress lead the Opposition against the BJP. There is no sign of that as of now.
The Congress does not have an organisational presence and structure in many places. It has been weakened organisationally and does not have an inspiring leader as president. Many party positions are yet to be filled and there is still a sense that only those who are close to the family have space and legitimacy in the party. But the next few months, when assembly elections are held in important states, followed by the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, are crucial for the party. If it can internalise the yatra and make its narrative the basis of an alternative politics to present an ideological counter to the BJP, Rahul Gandhi’s discovery of India will have gone beyond his individual self.