Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra: The route to Congress' win?

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which traversed Karnataka for 24 days, is considered to have significantly boosted Congress’ prospects in the state, where the people have given the party a massive mandate.

From September 30 to October 23, 2022, the disqualified Lok Sabha MP, along with Congress workers, covered a distance of 500 kilometres passing through seven districts in the state, all of them Congress strongholds.

Although the Congress claimed that the yatra was aimed at uniting people across the nation and fighting against hatred, the Gandhi scion used his public meetings to take on the incumbent government.

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During his public meetings, he accused the Bommai government of being corrupt as it had been involved in a series of scams.

Political observers say the Bharat Jodo Yatra was a warm-up session (eyeing the 2024 polls) for the Karnataka Congress, which had already managed to form the government in 2018 with the help of Janata Dal (Secular).

Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst, said, “The Bharat Jodo Yatra energised the grassroots-level cadre. Rahul Gandhi's interaction with people on the ground helped them understand the mission of the Congress.”

“Gandhi raised all the issues that were of public importance. Those small interactions matter to the public, and they don't forget. Even after the yatra, the party continued to hold the BJP government accountable for corruption, inflation, and unemployment,’’ he added.

Although the local Congress leadership worked tirelessly in the state without the presence of major national leaders, Gandhi’s presence on the ground was a game-changer, Kidwai said.

In Karnataka, the Bharat Jodo Yatra had begun in Gundlupet and concluded in Raichur. The opposition party had launched its own Karnataka-specific website where people could register and join the yatra.

During this yatra,  the Congress party covered 51 constituencies and has won 36, according to the latest data available on the Election Commission of India's website.  Rahul Gandhi's party colleagues are attributing the performance in the polls to him.

The Karnataka Congress had also conducted a social media campaign and invited unemployed youth to engage with Rahul Gandhi. The campaign received 11,000 applications, of which 2,000 were selected.

His interactions were seen as a serious attempt to connect with the people on the ground and understand their grievances.

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Niranjan Sahoo, a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, said that the enormous crowds the Bharat Jodo Yatra drew in Karnataka conveyed a strong message — that the Congress was still a strong force in the state.

Moreover, the yatra transformed people’s views of Rahul Gandhi, who was not seen as a serious leader earlier. Nonetheless, he exhibited his abilities and challenged the government, Sahoo added.

He said that Gandhi’s humble approach as he mingled with farmers, daily wagers, factory workers, shopkeepers, women, and children was well received.