YS Jagan did it four years ago. It catapulted him to power. When Jagan did it, the Congress not just opposed it but tried to block it. But, four years after it opposed what Jagan did, the Congress Party is doing the same thing. And this is a last-ditch attempt of the party to come back to power at least in 2024.
The Congress too has embarked on a padayatra. But there is a difference. While YS Jagan covered almost 90 per cent of the constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and intensively toured for more than 300 days, Rahul Gandhi will cover the whole country in just 148 days. What more? He will cover just 203 assembly constituencies.
Titled "Bharat Jodi", the yatra, the Congress hopes, will be a gamechanger. The yatra will begin from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. This only means that Rahul Gandhi will spend considerable time in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana, where the BJP too has minimal presence. Thus, his first encounter will be with anti-BJP regional parties. If he does not criticise these governments, the party units in these states would be unhappy. If he criticises, the unity of anti-BJP parties would be at stake. It remains to be seen how Rahul Gandhi addresses this dichotomy.
The aim of the yatra is to project Rahul Gandhi as an alternative to Modi and build a brand around him. But, where is Rahul Gandhi now? He is currently on a tour of a foreign country. The details of his foreign tour are not much known. Interestingly, he is out of the country at a time when there are presidential elections in the country.
The Congress too has embarked on a padayatra. But there is a difference. While YS Jagan covered almost 90 per cent of the constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and intensively toured for more than 300 days, Rahul Gandhi will cover the whole country in just 148 days. What more? He will cover just 203 assembly constituencies.
Titled "Bharat Jodi", the yatra, the Congress hopes, will be a gamechanger. The yatra will begin from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. This only means that Rahul Gandhi will spend considerable time in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana, where the BJP too has minimal presence. Thus, his first encounter will be with anti-BJP regional parties. If he does not criticise these governments, the party units in these states would be unhappy. If he criticises, the unity of anti-BJP parties would be at stake. It remains to be seen how Rahul Gandhi addresses this dichotomy.
The aim of the yatra is to project Rahul Gandhi as an alternative to Modi and build a brand around him. But, where is Rahul Gandhi now? He is currently on a tour of a foreign country. The details of his foreign tour are not much known. Interestingly, he is out of the country at a time when there are presidential elections in the country.