Mandya, Karnataka: The Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began on 7 September from Kanyakumari completes a month on the road. Rahul Gandhi and a group of 150 party workers have traversed 690 kms across three states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Speaking to ThePrint on the sidelines of the yatra in Karnataka, Jairam Ramesh, one of its coordinators and General Secretary in-charge of communications in the party, said that the aim of the Yatra wasn’t just to win elections.
“This was never conceived as a ‘Chunav Jitao Yatra’ when it was conceived in Udaipur. It was seen as a Yatra to rejuvenate the Congress. It was seen as a Yatra to revive, resuscitate and reinvigorate the Congress party organisation around a national narrative other than political power”, said Ramesh.
He also addressed the criticism the party is facing for not taking the Yatra through Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh — two states that are going to polls later this year.
Ramesh said that the yatra, which started from Kanyakumari, would take 90 days to reach Gujarat, by which time the elections would be over. He also explained that since this was a padyatra (journey by foot), on Rahul Gandhi’s insistence, and not a “hybrid” yatra, a detour to Gujarat, from the linear route the yatra is following now, would not be possible.
“More importantly, the party organisation in Gujarat would have been completely immersed in the yatra and it would impact our election preparedness”, he said.
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But then, why not start the yatra from Kashmir, we asked.
“Shankaracharya went from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The Bhakti movement went from South to North. Why should we always have India conceived as North to South? It also rolls from the tongue, you see. Kanyakumari se Kashmir. Bharat Jodo”, Ramesh said.
On a lighter note, Ramesh also spoke about his experience walking in the yatra at the age of 67. He also heaped praises on fellow Bharat Jodo coordinator Digivijaya Singh for walking over 20kms a day at the age of 74.
“We are the two bechaaras of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He (Digvijaya) is seven years older than me but he walks much more than me. He’s actually field marshall Digvijaya Singh and walks the whole distance. I walk maybe 8kms in the morning and maybe a kilometre and a half in the evening because I have the communications part and other things to take care of. But Digvijaya Singh is absolutely phenomenal”, he says.
“He’s super fit. He’s done a 3200 kms Narmada Parikrama Yatra. He does yoga in the morning. He fasts four times a week,” he added.
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For the first time, Congress is setting the narrative
When asked about the response the Yatra’s received over the last month, Ramesh said that for the first time, the Congress was “playing cricket on a pitch we have prepared”.
“The response in Tamil Nadu and Kerala was as per our expectations. The response in Karnataka has far exceeded our expectations. That’s because we thought this is a BJP-ruled state and we will have logistical issues. But apart from connectivity, we had no such issues. We had a phenomenal response to Mr Rahul Gandhi in Mysuru and a super response to the Congress President in Mandya”, said Ramesh.
“At the end of 30 days and 690kms, I would say that the yatra has succeeded in infusing new life into the Congress party and certainly set the cat among the pigeons in the BJP-RSS. The RSS is mouthing the language of Bharat Jodo and the ‘dirty tricks department’ of the BJP is working overtime to discredit us. That, I think, is a tribute to the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The fact that we are now setting the narrative”.
Not a ‘new’ Rahul Gandhi, but the ‘real’ Rahul Gandhi
Throughout the yatra, the communications team of the Congress, led by Ramesh, has been successful in circulating images and videos of Rahul Gandhi that have become viral on social media and have been lapped up by the news media. As ThePrint has reported, these photos and videos show a fun and accessible Gandhi, who is often criticised for being an unapproachable dynast.
Ramesh, however, contends that the imagery of the yatra doesn’t show a “new” Rahul Gandhi, but the “real” Rahul Gandhi.
“He’s been lampooned and caricatured for too long. The public image that has been created does gross disrespect to his private beliefs, his convictions, his passions and his vision for India”, said Ramesh.
However, he reiterates what Rahul Gandhi has said before, which is that Rahul is not “leading” the yatra. But, why then, is so much of the party’s attention focused on him?
“He occupies a special position in the Congress party. In his legacy and in terms of his contributions. He’s young, he’s personable, he wants to walk 25kms a day. Only Digvijaya Singh, who’s 24 years older to him, can match him. Congress party is thus focusing on him but it’s not a Rahul Gandhi Yatra, it’s a Congress yatra. He’s never said he’s leading the yatra. He has maintained that he’s one of the 150 yatris of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
‘Congress Presidential Elections a Matinee Show’
When asked about the much-talked-about upcoming presidential elections in the party, Ramesh called it a “side show” when compared to the Yatra.
“It is a side show, a morning show, a matinee show. But the evening housefull show is the Yatra. I’m not losing sleep over the elections. I’m losing sleep over the Yatra”, he declares.
“In our 137-year history we have had elections on four occasions. I personally prefer the Kamraj model of consensus building which resulted in Jawaharlal Nehru’s successor being selected and, later on, Lal Bahadur Shastri’s successor being selected. The Congress party is the only party that has a system for electing its president”.
He also denies that any of the two contenders — Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor — are being favoured by the Gandhis, as is the popular notion.
“(Madhusudan) Mistry has pointed it out. Mr. Rahul Gandhi has pointed it out. There is no official candidate. I’ve known Shashi Tharoor since 1974 when I came to Hindu College representing IIT Bombay for a quiz competition and he was representing St. Stephen’s. I’ve known Kharge ji since 1998. I’ve worked very closely with him over the last two decades. They are contrasting people, contrasting styles. Ultimately the person who contributes the most to strengthening the organisation will win.”
The new communication team’s A-C-T policy
In June this year, Ramesh was handed responsibility of the party’s communication department which was criticised for having stagnated under his predecessor Randeep Surjewala.
Since he’s taken over, the communications department has palpably been more aggressive, even ensuring that they receive on-air apologies from national news channels which ran fake news about Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.
So, what is Ramesh doing different from Surjewala? He says that the communications department’s strategy now is one of A-C-T — aggressive, concise and timely.
“When Mrs Gandhi asked me to take this job, there’s only one thing she told me and that’s that this is a 24×7 job. I got the hint. Normally I sleep at 10pm, but now I’m sleeping at 2am and tweeting at 1.30am!” says Ramesh about his new role.
“I’m very clear that if the BJP attacks you, you attack them back in the same language. If they’re playing cricket, not by the rules of cricket but by the rules of some other game, then learn the rules of that game and play them by those rules.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
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