Rahul Gandhi begins Bharat Jodo Yatra in Tamil Nadu, amid mixed predictions

Rahul Gandhi will go through two Union Territories and 12 states for 150 days as part of the yatra.

Covering 3,750 km, his yatra is expected to end in Kashmir.

To fight divisive agenda with Unity
To protect the integrity of our nation
To restore peace & harmony
and celebrate brotherhood. #BharatJodoYatra binds all Indians together.#VanakkamRahul pic.twitter.com/qfULoFRvj7

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 7, 2022

The March comes at a time when there is confusion in the Congress as to who will head the party, and after the party suffered a crushing defeat in various state Assembly elections held from 2014 to 2022 as well as in the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections.

Impact only in Tamil Nadu, Kerala? 

Political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy told South First that the Bharat Jodo Yatra would impact only Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Rahul Gandhi chose Tamil Nadu as a starting point because the Congress has its presence there, and the DMK — an ally of Congress — was the ruling party, Duraisamy said.

“There can not be much more reason for him to choose Tamil Nadu. MK Stalin nominated Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate in 2019. So, the DMK will select him again to maintain its alliance. Also, the Congress firmly believes that the voice of Tamil Nadu for the party is always more robust,” he said.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is the longest by any political party in India. It assumes significance as the Congress — the oldest political party in India — is organising it before the 2024 general election.

However, Duraisamy claimed the yatra would not have any impact, apart from in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

He added that the yatra would win the Congress no seats in the Assembly and general elections.

Congress leaders’ views

Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram sees the yatra as a massive outreach programme. He told South First that the yatra would activate the party cadre and make big waves.

“The party will meet all various kinds of people through the yatra, aiming to address their needs, and it will activate the party cadres as many have operational issues within the party,” he said.

Asked whether the yatra would unite cadres of the Congress, Karti said the party was united despite cadres having operational issues.

The Congress’ Lok Sabha member Manickam Tagore said he believed the yatra would have a significant impact and bring lots of hope to the people.

“It’s a historic moment for the Congress and Indian politics. Even before it started, the yatra sent down panic waves among BJP leaders and workers. They are already scared and have started screaming at the Congress,” he said.

Tagore said he didn’t see this yatra as a step to woo voters. He said Rahul Gandhi’s yatra was aimed at meeting various sections of people, listening to their woes, and bringing them hope.

He added, “The criticism from some analysts that the yatra would not bring any impact other than two states in India only shows that they are not aware of the mentality of the people from the ground, and have not travelled to meet people. They have no idea how people are attached to the Congress.”

History of political yatras in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu, best known for the works of two big Dravidian parties — the DMK and the AIADMK — has seen yatras that changed political views.

M Karunanidhi, the ex-chief minister of Tamil Nadu, was the trendsetter for yatras. His march for justice in 1982 against the then AIADMK regime was the starting point of many more yatras in the state.

Karunanidhi went on a 200-km yatra from Madurai to Tiruchendur, demanding justice over the mysterious death of Subramaniya Pillai, an HR&CE official, at the Tiruchendur temple.

Several political analysts told South First that the yatra by the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko also had significance in the political history of Tamil Nadu.

Vaiko, who was a DMK functionary in the 1980s, took out a rally in 1986 in protest against theft at the Magaranedunkulainathar temple in Thoothukudi.

After assuming the post of the MDMK general secretary in 1996, he went on his next yatra from Kanniyakumari to Chennai, via Coimbatore and Salem, covering 1,500 km in 51 days, to protest against the then AIADMK regime’s corruption in 1994, political analysts said.

He also went on a yatra against river interlinking in 2004 and the neutrino project in the Theni district.

He went on yatras for issues like the prohibition of alcohol, environmental protection, and the Cauvery water dispute.

However, his yatras didn’t win him votes in the Assembly and general elections held in 1996.