The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi completed one month of its march in Karnataka on October 6. With the participation of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Yatra got a massive character boost, attracting thousands of men, women, and even children, as also the grassroots party workers. The significant thing was the show of unity by the two Congress factions of the state during the march, and this was made possible by Rahul Gandhi who took former chief minister K Siddharamaiah on one side and DK Shivkumar on the other and compelled them to beat the drum together amidst wide applause from the marchers.
The Yatra which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari covered Tamil Nadu and Kerala and entered Karnataka on September 30. The marchers will continue the Yatra in Karnataka till October 21. This three-week travel by the Congress workers and the common masses under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has special significance as the message of end to hatred and bigotry is more relevant for this state compared to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Congress must not only unite its leadership but also expand its support base to take on the BJP in the state assembly elections early next year. The Congress also has to align with the JD(S) to jointly combat the BJP challenge in the coming Karnataka polls. That way, the three-week Bharat Jodo Yatra through Karnataka is sure to impart new dynamism to the Congress organisation in the state.
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In the last rural bodies elections, both the Congress and the JD(S) performed better compared to the BJP and since then, the BJP government’s acceptability has gone down. A proper understanding between the rejuvenated state Congress and the JD(S) can beat the BJP convincingly. The BJP central leadership has taken note of the tremendous response aroused by the Yatra and they are worried that it will have an impact on the coming assembly elections. Accordingly, a meeting of the state leaders was held on Friday to take stock of the situation. Sources said that the BJP has set a target of winning 150 seats out of the total of 224 in the next elections and the party leadership will take all steps to neutralise the impact, if any, of the Bharat Jodi Yatra on the electorate of Karnataka.
For the Congress Party, it is a positive development that the Yatra has got a good response in Karnataka. However, the immediate need of the Congress is to mobilise all its resources for fighting the BJP in its strongholds Gujarat and Himachal, where assembly polls are scheduled for November-December this year. So far, the Congress preparedness is abysmal. In Himachal, the party is in a bad shape. Out of the four working presidents of the state Congress, two have left and joined BJP. Early this week, a very senior leader Suresh Chandel left the Congress and joined the BJP. No major Congress leader campaigned in Himachal in recent weeks, while the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself began the election campaign this week and all senior leaders including the BJP president J P Nadda are monitoring the BJP campaign on a daily basis.
