New Delhi: The Congress is kickstarting its efforts to revive the party in Gujarat, where it last won an assembly election in 1985, through a 15-day “Nyay Yatra” which will traverse nearly 350 kilometres winding its way from Morbi to Gandhinagar.
Through this yatra, the party will highlight its demand for justice for the victims of a bridge collapse, fire tragedies and boat accidents in the state that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.
The yatra, which is set to begin on 9 August, comes within a month of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement, during his first visit to the state after the Lok Sabha elections, that the party will dislodge the BJP from power in the 2027 assembly polls.
“A new Congress will emerge from Gujarat…we will teach them a lesson,” Rahul had said, addressing a party gathering in Ahmedabad, days after clashes broke out between Congress and BJP workers outside the Gujarat Congress office on 2 July during a protest by the BJP’s youth wing over Rahul’s statement in the Lok Sabha on Hinduism and the BJP.
Speaking to ThePrint, Congress Seva Dal chief Lalji Desai said the party plans to take out six more yatras in Gujarat in the future on issues ranging from unemployment to farmers’ distress.
“These yatras are being taken out at a time when there are no elections on the horizon in the state. It reflects our resolve to fight for the people and the determination of Rahul Gandhi,” Desai said.
Apart from Desai, state Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani and Palbhai Ambaliya, chairman of the Congress farmers’ wing in Gujarat, will primarily lead the yatra, which will culminate in Gandhinagar on 23 August after winding its way through Morbi, Rajkot, Chotila, and Wadhwan, Viramgam among other places.
अगस्त क्रांति दिवस 9 अगस्त 2024 से आरंभ को रही गुजरात न्याय यात्रा का "रूट प्लान"!
यात्रा मोरबी से 9 अगस्त को प्रारंभ हो कर 23 अगस्त को गांधी नगर में समाप्त होगी।#GujaratNyayYatra pic.twitter.com/GUc5D9eDdN
— Lalji Desai (@LaljiDesaiG) August 8, 2024
Senior leaders of the Congress’ central and state units will also join the march, Desai said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to join the march after the Budget Session of Parliament.
Since 1995, the BJP has won seven consecutive elections in Gujarat which had Narendra Modi as the chief minister between 2001 and 2014, when he took charge as the prime minister. After Modi, Anandiben Patel served as the CM till August 2016. Vijay Rupani took charge after her, but resigned in September 2021. He was succeeded by Bhupendra Patel.
Patel’s tenure has witnessed several accidents. In October 2022, a colonial-era suspension bridge collapsed in Gujarat’s Morbi, killing 135 people. In January this year, a boat capsized in Vadodara’s Harni Lake zone, claiming 14 lives, including those of 12 school children.
And in May, a fire at a gaming arcade in Rajkot killed 27 people.
Desai alleged blatant violation of norms owing to corruption was behind all the incidents that drew widespread outrage and criticism. “The idea behind the yatra is to make people aware that these tragedies could have been prevented had corruption not been so rife in the state. The leaders of the BJP are directly responsible for the loss of lives,” Desai said.
He claimed that the Congress’ campaign on these issues have started capturing the imagination of the people.
“On 25 June, there was a day-long strike in Rajkot on our call. It was unthinkable that Rajkot, considered a fortress of the RSS, would respond to our call in such a manner,” the Seva Dal chief said.
In his speech last month, Rahul admitted that the Congress did not put its best foot forward in the 2022 assembly polls in which the BJP won 156 seats, reducing the Congress to 17, and a vote share of 27.28 percent.
The AAP ended up getting a vote share of 12.9 percent and five seats in the assembly.
In 2017, however, a vigorous campaign helped the party increase its tally to 77 in the 182-member assembly with a vote share of 41.4 percent.
“It’s not as if the Congress doesn’t have shortcomings in Gujarat. We have to recognise that. One worker told me there are two types of horses — one meant for races and the other weddings. At times the Congress party uses the horses meant for races in weddings, and the ones for weddings in races,” Rahul had said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)