If optics was a yardstick, then Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is a runaway success. There are stunning visuals of Gandhi speaking in the rain, walking with “mashals” (fire torches) in hand, visiting temples, having conversations with seers and priests, consoling the aggrieved, walking hand in hand the young and the old. Celebrities have been joining him on the walk. Carefully crafted photo-ops with women across communities indicated by visual cues of their dresses and head gear. Over the weeks he has allowed his beard to grow giving his persona a makeover from a city slicker to a revolutionary like Che Guevara or political philosopher in the mould of Karl Marx. In short, the Yatra is a photographer’s delight and being enthusiastically lapped up by the media as must have been the plan.
Congress leaders have been at pains to explain that the purpose of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not to win elections. When a TV anchor asked a Congress spokesperson — why did the Congress lose a by-election in Telangana soon after the Yatra passed through the state — the lady was nonplussed. She said that immediately before this the Congress also lost some municipal elections in Karnataka, which Rahul Gandhi had traversed but the party was not concerned as the Yatra was a movement and not a campaign. This was a bit flummoxing because, apart from posing for photo-essays on the move, Rahul Gandhi has been talking politics at every pit stop taking pot shots at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS or Sangh). To further compound the confusion, the current route plan of the Yatra does not pass-through Gujarat which is going for elections in a few weeks.
It seems particularly odd as Gandhi had led the party’s campaign from the front in the Assembly elections of 2017, in which the Congress had managed to put up an impressive show. Terming the results as a moral victory, Rahul Gandhi had promised the people of Gujarat that he was there to stay and not going to abandon the people after the results. Though, to be fair, he did visit Gujarat quite a few times since then, his decision to stay away from the action is intriguing. One reason for his giving Gujarat the miss could be premonitions about the party’s performance and not wishing to be associated with another electoral setback in a crucial state. However, he is not helping his party’s cause by saying at a rally in Maharashtra that Gujarat, the home-state of Narendra Modi, was snatching away all mega projects depriving the state of investments. Similarly, body shaming an unnamed RSS leader and mocking Savarkar within the earshot of the Sangh’s headquarters in Nagpur was lying bowling full-toss deliveries for BJP to hit out of the park.
Assuming that winning elections is not the objective of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, one cannot explain such humongous spends in money, mobilisation, and organisational resources over several months only on an altruistic objective of national integration. Though Congress leaders will not admit that Rahul Gandhi requires any image rebuilding, the purpose is clearly to raise his national profile to be the principal challenger of Narendra Modi. To what extent he will be able to capture national imagination for taking on Modi’s larger-than-life persona time will tell.
Lot will depend on how the cinematography is converted into a blockbuster by 2024. For the moment, it has succeeded in shifting the attention away from other Chief Ministers nurturing similar ambitions. For the present at least, Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and K Chadrasekhar Rao seem to have tactically dialled down their visibility. No doubt they are closely watching the progress of the Bharat Jodo Yatra before revealing their next cards. But there is one man, Arvind Kejriwal, who is plodding along undeterred, chipping away the Congress’ base to enlarge its national footprint.
In terms of personal branding, Kejriwal has chosen a differentiated positioning for himself as the ‘Amol Palekar’ — deglamorised ‘boy next door’ politician. Like Modi used to ignore all criticisms of the Godhra tragedy that were thrown at him since became Gujarat Chief Minister, Kejriwal remains unfazed by all allegations of corruption and misgovernance on his part. Shrugging off all accusations as water off a duck’s back, he continues to harp ad-nauseum about his claims on schools, healthcare and promising freebies as if there is no tomorrow. Keeping with the principles of branding Kejriwal is staying the course and remaining consistent in his messaging despite distractions. Unlike Rahul Gandhi, he is not playing for 2024. His eyes are set on the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Before that he intends to form a national base across multiple states.
In Gujarat, therefore, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s quest is not to form the government but build an organisation and vote-bank at the expense of the Congress and those disenchanted with the BJP. In the coming days he can be expected to try the same formula in other states, especially where Congress has a significant vote share that may be up for grabs. After Gujarat the next on his list could be Karnataka. It is a bit of an enigma, as to why the AAP slowed down in Himachal Pradesh after a spirited start. It could be because the AAP wanted to focus on Gujarat, where even a moderate success will boost Kejriwal’s national profile. A good marketer knows the pitfalls of early peeking.
There is considerable excitement in the commentariat about the potential impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the prospects of the AAP in Gujarat. Here the response of the BJP, or rather the lack of it, is noteworthy. Narendra Modi is carrying on with his agenda unperturbed. Even while campaigning in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh the dominant theme is development as he inaugurates or lays foundation stones for new infrastructure and industrial projects. The BJP has also been holding Rozgar Melas to take the sting out of the criticism about unemployment.
In the midst of all this Narendra Modi found time for a whistle stop tour of South India from Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh via Tamil Nadu — starting with the opening of the spectacular new terminal of Kempegowda Airport in Bengaluru televised widely across the nation. This happened just after Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra moved north of the Vindhyas. Marketing is all about timing.
The author is a current affairs commentator, marketer, blogger and leadership coach, who tweets at @SandipGhose. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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