If those steps are successful

With the slogan 'Mile Khadam, Jodo Vatan' (Join the steps, let the land be one), the Congress' march led by Rahul Gandhi came to an end yesterday. It became another historic event in post-independence India as the journey started from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022, and reached Srinagar on Sunday after covering over 4,000 kilometres in 135 days. The Jodo Yatra passed through 75 districts of 14 states and two Union Territories. It would not be wrong to say that Rahul and his team have received the heart of the common people of those lands. The journey of the last five months has witnessed several deeply moving scenes. It was not only the Congress leaders who proved that it was a journey to reclaim India's soul. Academicians, activists, writers, and artists of the country joined the yatra. On the closing day, leaders of various parties appeared on stage amid the heavy snowfall of the adverse political climate to hint at the possibilities of a secular front against fascist politics, remaining hopeful for the days to come. It must be assumed that Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra will have resonances in all corners of the country in the coming days.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra was planned by Congress as a crucial intervention to expose the anti-people regime of the Narendra Modi-led central government and their politics of dividing the country. It was also the time when all the anger gathered in the party leadership was discussed in public. On the one hand, the G23 leaders maintain their leadership through a series of public statements. On the other hand, there are those who argue that the party should continue to exist and function in the shadow of the Nehru family. Even in those moments of uncertainty, Rahul avoided controversies and prepared for the Yatra. He reiterated that the journey was not for the party or for the sake of the 2024 elections. Addressing a press conference held in Delhi on the eve of the Yatra, the leaders stated that Rahul and his team are stepping out to reclaim the country by addressing the concerns of India, which has been polluted by the regime by spreading fear and hatred. In a sense, it was a slogan that this country demanded and wanted. With the arrival of DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and others joining Rahul in Kanyakumari, the Bharat Jodo Yatra became more than just a party event of the Congress. It went on to become a mass movement against Modi's hegemony. It was evident from the beginning. That is why people from different walks of life joined Rahul on that journey. One has to admit that Rahul has managed to develop the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a campaign to expose a ruling government that has upheld the ideology of hatred, divided the country, destroyed the economy, and eroded the values ​​of the Constitution. That is why roadblocks were thrown in the way citing the covid protocol.

During this journey, national politics witnessed many developments. One of them was the change of leadership in Congress. There have been elections in recent times that have given rise to both joy and disappointment for Congress. When the party lost miserably in Gujarat, it overthrew the BJP in Himachal and seized power. Efforts for a third front of secular parties against the BJP under the leadership of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao intensified after the Yatra began. With only 15 months to go before the Lok Sabha elections, these events are all the more crucial. In a sense, these events mark the preparations of the parties and the opposition for the national elections. The weakness of those preparations is also evident. The conclusion of the Yatra also points to another secular alliance possibility. The question is whether these movements will evolve into a broad anti-fascist front. While the Yatra may be considered successful in convincing the nation of the need for the secular community to stand together to protect democracy, it is doubtful that the secular organisations in the country took that message to heart. The approach of the CPM, which has kept a distance from the Yatra since the beginning, and KCR's efforts to build a Third Front are fueling that suspicion. It has to be doubted whether these people are still haunted by the fear of losing their infallibility in the 'regional republics' once the broad coalition at the national level becomes a reality. If not, they too could have joined this journey. In short, if Rahul's steps to redeem the nation are to succeed, he has a long way to go, both inside and outside the party.