A 136-day-long journey on foot traversing the size of the nation appears to have shot India’s grand previous Congress occasion again into political prominence – because it appears to shrug off a slew of electoral defeats and pose a problem to Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) lined 4,080km throughout 12 states and two federal territories over 4 months by means of biting chilly and torrential rain and noticed lots of of odd residents be a part of him on the way in which.

The states included Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, and the federal territories of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.

The march started on 7 September on the nation’s southernmost tip of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and resulted in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on 30 January.

Addressing a crowd of supporters in Srinagar amid heavy snowfall, Gandhi stated: “I have not done this (march) for myself or for the Congress but for people of the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country.”

From the plain white T-shirt that he wore all through the march, to not carrying a jacket within the biting chilly of northern India, delivering speeches within the rain, tenting in tents, and sporting a salt-and-pepper beard – the march was laden with symbolism. Gandhi, mocked by the BJP’s social media cell for years as pappu or an unintelligent boy, appeared decided to shrug off his picture as a non-serious politician.

It is not any marvel, given how deep his – typically tragic – household historical past is intertwined with India’s politics. Gandhi is the great-grandson of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi household – sometimes called India’s first political household. His grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was India’s first lady prime minister and the second-longest serving – after her personal father. She was assasinated in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi – Rahul’s father – would succeed his mom and function prime minister till 1989. He too can be assassinated in 1991. Rajiv’s widow, Rahul’s mom, Sonia would change into the longest-serving president the Congress occasion has had.

However, after governing India for a lot of the seven many years since its independence, Congress is now solely in energy in three of the nation’s 28 states.

A month after the march began, the Congress occasion elected its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, Mallikarjun Kharge, in a bid to shed its dynastic picture. Although there isn’t any doubt the Nehru-Gandhi household has stranglehold over the occasion’s features organisation and features. This has been on the centre of BJP assaults on Congress because it first got here to energy in 2014. The BJP has repeatedly sought to point out that the stagnation of this dynasty the explanation it was in the end routed from energy after many years of rule.

The BJP’s narrative – targeted on projecting Gandhi as a shehzaada or a prince who just isn’t a critical politician and has secured a spot on the helm of the Congress attributable to his household title – has solely added to the occasion’s sliding fortunes in recent times. This relative fall has given Gandhi the house to create a David vs Goliath narrative round his stroll, regardless of his background.

Gandhi claims that “love” from the Indian individuals has saved him heat throughout his lengthy march. He was usually joined by gushing college youngsters and the aged as he drank tea or ate lunch at roadside retailers.

According to the occasion’s nationwide spokesperson Gourav Vallabh, the unity march has been largely profitable as a result of the message of social concord has reached the individuals.

“The objective of this yatra was two-fold,” he tells The Independent.

“Under the Modi government hate on the lines of religion, caste and even sub-castes has grown exponentially creating a big dent on the social fabric of our country.

“The first objective was to take India back to the time where all religions were respected and brotherhood was the norm.

“We have achieved this to a large extent,” he says.

The second goal, he says, was to begin a dialogue on India’s ailing financial system.

“We talk of renaming gardens and stadiums but the fact that the quality of life of the average Indian is not improving is not a point of discussion.”

India below Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP authorities has seen a spike in hate crimes and persecution of non secular minorities.

Last April, for the third 12 months in a row, the United States Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF) recommended the US State Department designate India a “country of particular concern” for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom”.

Religious and social polarisation has been accompanied by rising financial inequality, with rising inflation and unemployment.

“Our second objective was to bring these economic issues to the discussion table so policies can be made to remedy them,” Vallabh says.

Through the march Gandhi delivered a collection of speeches highlighting the rising financial inequality in India, the rising spiritual polarisation, and the risk posed by China in a bid to instantly problem the Modi authorities.

Though the march was designed to spotlight a tough time for the nation, it additionally comes at a low level for the Congress occasion itself, with India’s “grand old party” now struggling to remain afloat.

Barring a win in Himachal Pradesh final 12 months, the occasion has suffered a slew of election defeats in successive state polls, in addition to being battered within the 2014 and 2019 basic elections. India goes to the polls once more in 2024.

The occasion is seen as needing a serious overhaul whether it is to have any probability of successful nationwide elections, however has been grappling with factionalism and seen a collection of desertions in latest months.

While the lengthy march, based on the occasion, was aimed toward social concord and elevating consciousness about financial crises, it was additionally very a lot about presenting a rebranded Gandhi and the occasion.

Analysts say that with this lengthy march, Gandhi has no less than managed to halt the slide in his recognition.

Rahul Verma, a fellow on the Centre for Policy Research and visiting assistant professor at Ashoka University, says: “Lot of people considered Rahul Gandhi as a non-serious politician, and that’s where the yatra has broken that image to an extent.

“It may not have catapulted Rahul Gandhi or his party but it has definitely arrested their unpopularity,” he says.

The Congress, on its half, says the pictures of Gandhi strolling throughout the nation assembly native communities and stakeholders has rattled the BJP.

“A person like Rahul Gandhi without having any issues with hot summer or chilling winter or heavy rainfall walking across the country and lakhs of people irrespective caste, colour, religion and ideologies joining this yatra for social harmony – [this] has never been seen before,” says Vallabh.

“When the march was in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP spoke about his shoes. In Karnataka they started talking about his T-shirt and later it was about what he is eating in Telangana and Andhra [Pradesh] and finally in north India the BJP started speculating about why he is not feeling cold.

“There were consistent and personal attacks on Rahul Gandhi which proves our success and that the BJP is in high degree of frustration,” he says.

The speech by means of heavy snowfall on 30 January was not Gandhi’s solely symbolic transfer to point out that he’s able to pose a problem to Modi and the BJP.

Sumeet Mhaskar, professor on the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University, says that the march succeeded in rebranding Gandhi’s picture.

“A turning point was when it (march) moved north – in really cold weather – and conversations grew around Mr Gandhi wearing only a T-shirt,” he says.

“The march has successfully addressed the twin criticism of how he (Gandhi) is politically immature as well as the question of him not connecting with people on the ground. On both fronts Gandhi has managed to rebrand himself.”

The Congress says it’s “natural” that the march, although initially claimed to be “non-political”, pays electoral dividends.

“Though we did not start with that mindset, we are expecting electoral benefits,” says Vallabh.

Analysts say that whereas the march could have been a hit, it can’t flip round Congress’s election fortunes by itself.

Verma says this will depend on whether or not the occasion can “continue to sustain the momentum”.

“The party needs to move from abstract ideological articulation to a more nuanced ideological position that can be conveyed to the masses. It needs to continue working on the organisation and most importantly win state elections especially in states going to polls from now till 2024.

“If they don’t win these elections there will be not much change to the party’s ability to mount a challenge to the BJP in 2024.”

Mhaskar says that whereas it’s an “important message that Gandhi is offering against politics of hate, inflation, and government bias to corporates, it needs to expand on what this would actually offer”.

“In addition, it also depends on how they align themselves with smaller non-BJP parties, build alliances, and make smart candidate choices.”

“In that sense it shows a limitation that the Congress could have reached out to smaller groups or political parties a little earlier which only happened later in the yatra,” he says, referring to Gandhi’s assembly with regional leaders in numerous non-BJP states alongside the route.

The Congress claims that it efficiently reached out to regional gamers. “We have received wholehearted support of more than 90 per cent of like-minded parties,” says Vallabh.

“The remaining 10 per cent we are very hopeful – as we move towards 2024 – will join hands and we will fight together against BJP’s divide and rule, polarise and rule, and distract and rule policies.”

Shruti Kapila, professor, college of historical past and co-director, Global Humanities Initiative on the University of Cambridge, says the march was a “tremendous event in modern Indian politics.”

“The main upshot is that now there is an open debate on different visions on what India might be and where it might go and how it might get there.

“In the last 10 years you could say PM Modi dominated with the cult of his personality the political discourse as well as what India is, and I think that now the narrative has become pluralised and contested,” she says.

Addressing a press convention after the march ended, BJP stated it was “politically motivated” and included “hatemongers” as individuals who wished to divide India. The Independent reached out to the BJP for additional remark however didn’t obtain a response.