To upset BJP’s apple cart, Rahul Gandhi must become a pragmatic politician

The Yatra has done well and upset naysayers. It has also given fresh life to the Congress, and Rahul. But is that enough to go into the 2024 general elections?

Silent voices are often heard louder, particularly through the EVMs during elections. These silent voices have in them myriad shades of opinions about socio-economic developments around them. That is why in power politics a leader needs to be moderate in their approach while trying to etch a soft place in the voter’s mind.

Put otherwise, a politician vying for power needs to be pragmatic, and leave a large part of the ideological space untouched. It was the Indira Gandhi government in 1976 which inserted the word ‘secular’ in the Indian Constitution, and yet she, in a letter in 1980, praised Vinayak ‘Veer’ Damodar Savarkar as a ‘remarkable son of India’.

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Of course Gandhi knew that Savarkar was not a secular person, and yet she also knew that while there were some vocal critics of Savarkar’s radical Hindutva, a far larger number of silent voices respected him.

She adopted a middle path, one which every pragmatic politician follows. However, Indira Gandhi’s grandson and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently undertaking the pan-India Bharat Jodo Yatra, has chosen a different path which is high on ideology, low on pragmatism. For example, he rakes up the Savarkar debate time and again, even leading to a conflict with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partner Shiv Sena, which has demanded Sarvarkar be awarded the Bharat Ratna.’

Rahul Gandhi is following an overtly ideological path in his resistance to the BJJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), oblivious to the fact that his opposition conveniently suits and helps the BJP-RSS combine which has no qualms in using religion as an instrument of politics.

It is up to Rahul Gandhi whether he would want to stick on this ideological path (which has not electorally worked for him or the Congress), or adapt a more pragmatic stand where he could become a leader who upsets the BJP’s apple cart.

The topic gains relevance because Rahul Gandhi’s yatra has breathed fresh air into the Congress and its party machinery unlike anything seen in almost a decade. Even in states where the Congress does not have a strong presence, like West Bengal where it does not have an MLA and where the yatra was led by Adhir Chowdhury, the response was good. This is proof that Rahul Gandhi has managed to catch the nation’s attention in a favourable manner by discussion matters that are of concern to the people.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which was declared a flop by many, is reverberating with many across the nation, so much so that it has been ‘blessed’ by Ayodhya Ram temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das and Hanuman Garhi mahant Sanjay Das. This could be read as Rahul Gandhi’s efforts being recognised by influential Hindu monks and priests who do not consider him a ‘seasonal Hindu’.

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The positive response the Bharat Jodo Yatra has received gives Rahul Gandhi a good opportunity to challenge Modi in the 2024 general elections. However, before that the Congress leader needs to come out with a pragmatic political agenda, one which addresses the socio-economic problems, the political problems, the unemployment crisis, etc. More importantly, he has to present an alternative governance agenda.

When the BJP challenged the Congress in 2014, Modi presented an alternative narrative of a corruption-free India coupled with development. This helped the BJP attract ~7 percent more votes (31 percent) than that it had achieved under Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 (23.75 percent). Sadly, so far Rahul Gandhi (or the Congress) has not been able to spell out a compelling governance narrative capable of increasing the party’s vote share from 19.49 percent in 2019.

The 2024 general elections will be a good opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to lead from the front, as some would argue that the Modi-led BJP is now at its leanest patch since coming to power at the Centre in 2014. The economy is facing headwinds, and politically the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has shrunk after partners have deserted it. If the political situation remains as is today, the NDA might get fewer seats than what it did in the 2019 polls (353 seats). If things were to get harder for the NDA, with more problems in the alliance and within the BJP, there could be a scenario where it would not even cross the halfway mark.

It has to been seen if Rahul Gandhi adopts a pragmatic approach and strengthens the Congress’ electoral prospects, or squander away an opportunity at regaining political power at the Centre.

Diptendra Raychaudhuri is a Kolkata-based journalist and author.

The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.