Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday, September 5, 2022, weeks after switching sides yet again. Nitish Kumar has changed political allegiance so many times that opponents call him a ‘turncoat’ or ‘Paltu’ in Hindi. On the other hand, the political image of the other politician, known as ‘Pappu’, is such that a part-time actress like Swara Bhaskar has to come forward and say, ‘I have met him. He is not Pappu.’
In this meeting, both leaders conversed for about 50 minutes. The media reporting of this meeting focussed on the opposition unity, a fantasy already discussed too much. Nitish Kumar, who recently joined hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar, had earlier met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. He also met HD Kumaraswamy of Karnataka and is planning to meet Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. In near future, he is planning to meet all those regional leaders whose political career is endangered because of the ever-increasing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expressed gratitude to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, for Cong’s support to the Bihar govt. Strategy for the 2024 polls discussed; concrete discussions to continue. Both leaders discussed the possibility of bringing like-minded parties together: Congress Sources https://t.co/N4R3FVqB1I
— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2022
It is also being said that before the elections, some of the parties born out of the disintegration of the Janata Parivar may also merge together. The logic given for this probable merger is that in most such parties, there is a second generation of the respective families leading the parties. These second-generation leaders are in search of proper political space in their respective states. Their ambitions for national-level politics don’t clash with each other in the way those of their parents did have, causing a split in the Janata Parivar. There have been so many alliances in the Indian polity which went on to rule despite the inherent mismatch in the parties sharing the power in those alliances. To make all of it appear logical and justified, the socialist leaders in India are blessed with a formula given by Ram Manohar Lohiya which is ‘Join, fight and break’.
We have discussed that if the Left parties, regional parties in different states, and Congress come together then it will be a huge matter: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar addresses the media, with CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/snUhA3Olvu
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2022
The so-called socialist leaders in India are trying for a united opposition ahead of the 2024 general elections. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi is starting the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on 7th September 2022. Interestingly, this Yatra is being compared with a Yatra by another socialist leader and former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar despite the fact that only the name ‘Bharat’ is common in these two Yatras. The motives and leadership of these two Yatras mark great differences.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra
This Yatra starts on 7th September 2022 from Kanyakumari. The 150-days-long Yatra will pass through 12 states and 2 union territories in the country. The 3500-kilometre-long Yatra is scheduled to conclude in Jammu and Kashmir. The three primary motives behind the tour by the Congress leader are fighting the economic imbalance that allegedly grew under the Modi regime, combating the increasing crimes and discrimination in the society and fighting the alleged misuse of the central agencies.
7 तारीख को राजीव गांधी मेमोरियल में एक घंटे की प्रार्थना सभा होगी, 3 बजे कन्याकुमारी और 4 बजे गांधी मेमोरियल जाएंगे।
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 5, 2022
वहां तमिलनाडु, राजस्थान, छत्तीसगढ़ के मुख्यमंत्री रहेंगे, जो राहुल गांधी जी को राष्ट्रध्वज सौंपेंगे: श्री @Jairam_Ramesh#MileKadamJudeVatan#BharatJodoYatra pic.twitter.com/s20z82MZaw
The need to connect India
It is not new for Congress to defame India for its political gains. Be it an agreement with China’s ruling party or secretly meeting its envoys or asking for proof of the valor of the Indian Army in the fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress continuously demonstrated this part of its character. Once again, by naming its political campaign ‘Bharat Jodo’, the party has shown the same mindset.
Despite a pandemic like Covid-19, India became the fifth largest economy in the world. The Naxal violence in the country has come down. Terrorists are constantly being eliminated by the security forces. There has been no major terror attack after the Mumbai terror attacks also known as the attacks of 26/11. India is becoming self-reliant in the defense sector as well. Facilities like cooking gas, toilets, tap water, etc. are reaching the doorsteps of the poor common man even in remote rural areas.
Against this backdrop, it becomes an important question to be asked to Congress as to where does it find a potential threat of breaking the nation that it wants to take a Yatra to join it back? In fact, it is just the ever-diminishing popularity and public support of the grand old party that it is attempting to nourish the forces that enhance the challenges of internal security.
Congress leaders are known to be involved in activities like the anti-CAA protests or the demonstrations by the so-called farmers near the borders of Delhi. These activities are actually aimed to vitiate internal security situations. Does Congress want to create a situation before 2024 through this yatra, which the government might have to deal with on many fronts within the country? It has a history of appeasement of Islamic fundamentalists anyway.
Comparison with the Yatra taken by former PM Chandrashekhar
Chandrashekhar tried to explore the problems of independent India. He started his Bharat Yatra from Vivekananda Memorial in Kanyakumari on January 6, 1983. The 4,200-km pedestal march ended at Rajghat in Delhi on June 25, 1984. During this march, he stayed at many places and made some of them a center for churning ideas and named them Bharat Yatra Kendra. One of them is the Bharat Yatra Kendra at Bhondsi and it is spread over about 600 acres. In later years, Bhondsi Ashram remained During this visit, he stayed at many places and made some of them a center of ideas in the name of Bharat Yatra Kendra. One of them is the Bharat Yatra Kendra at Bhondsi, spread over about 600 acres. In later years, Bhondsi Ashram remained just a center of politics and the Bharat Yatra was erased from the public memory.
In fact, there was no politics at the core of this Yatra by Chandrashekhar. The five key issues addressed in that Yatra were – potable water for all, getting rid of malnourishment, education for all children, the right to good health, and social harmony.
Is there any key takeaway from the Yatra for Congress?
There is no unusual situation like an emergency in the country where opposition parties can give up their own interests and come together under an umbrella. Nitish Kumar is basically trying the same thing Mamata Banerjee was trying a few months ago. Before 2019, similar things were being discussed about Chandrababu Naidu but everyone is aware of the results.
There are many examples in history of gaining power from such Yatras. But there were some common factors behind them all. For example, there was a sense of resentment among the people. Those leading the Yatra were known for their political posturing or people sympathized with them, as was seen in Jaganmohan’s case. All recent surveys show that Narendra Modi’s popularity remains the same. He is the hero the common people of India expect. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi has not been able to create the image of a serious politician before the people of this country. Be it Nitish Kumar’s ‘opposition unity’ or Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, it seems like a rattle that makes a lot of noise, but fails to attract people.
