NEW DELHI (AP) — Members of India’s most important opposition Congress occasion and hundreds of supporters walked into the capital on Saturday as a part of a 5-month-long cross-country “unity march” in search of to problem what they are saying is a “hate-filled” model of the nation beneath the Hindu nationalist authorities.

Joined by hundreds of occasion staff and senior leaders, the march led by Rahul Gandhi, an opposition chief of the Congress occasion and scion of the influential Gandhi household, entered New Delhi after passing via eight states.

Flanked by his mom, Sonia Gandhi, and sister, Priyanka Gandhi, the 52-year-old chief mentioned that the motive of his lengthy stroll throughout the size of the nation is to revive the once-mighty Congress occasion and showcase the “real India” not like the “hate-filled version” provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“They will spread hate. We will spread love,” Gandhi mentioned, referring to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Gandhi set off for the “Bharat Jodo Yatra,” or “Unite India March,” in Kanyakumari, a coastal city that’s the southernmost tip of India, on Sept. 7. The march, which is broadcast stay on an internet site, is anticipated to traverse 3,570 kilometers (2,218 miles) and cross 12 states earlier than ending in Indian-controlled Kashmir by February.

Passing via lots of of villages and cities, the march has attracted farmers apprehensive about rising debt, college students complaining about growing unemployment, civil society members and rights activists who say India’s democratic health is in decline. Along the way in which, Gandhi has additionally shed his previously clean-shaven search for a thick beard and slept in transport container cabins throughout evening halts.

In a number of impassioned speeches in the course of the march, Gandhi has usually focused Modi and his authorities for doing little or no to deal with the rising financial inequality in India, the rising non secular polarization, and the menace posed by China. The armies of India and China are locked in a bitter standoff within the mountainous Ladakh area since 2020. Despite over a dozen rounds of talks at navy, political and diplomatic ranges, the standoff has protracted.

Modi’s occasion has dismissed Gandhi’s march and speeches as a political gimmick to regain his “lost credibility.”

“The character of the Congress has been to break India,” the occasion mentioned in a tweet Saturday.

Hindu nationalism has surged beneath Modi and his occasion, which have been criticized over rising hate speech and violence against Muslims in recent times. Opponents say Modi’s silence emboldens right-wing teams and threatens nationwide unity, however his occasion has denied this.

Even although the Congress occasion says Gandhi’s cross-country stroll is especially to reestablish an emotional reference to Indians, the march’s electoral ambitions are onerous to overlook.

With a nationwide election lower than 16 months away, it may decide whether or not India’s beleaguered opposition can put up a combat in opposition to the electoral juggernaut of Modi’s occasion that gained the bulk in 2014 and 2019.

Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst, mentioned Gandhi is “employing some politically correct methods during his long walk that has potential to do some image correction for him.” But he cautioned that solely electoral victories will in the long run outline whether or not Gandhi’s march is profitable.

“Modi’s BJP has a success rate of about 90% in over 200 parliamentary seats where it’s in direct contest with the Congress. If this march reduces that rate, that would be quite a success. In a democracy, it is important to be relevant and win elections,” Kidwai mentioned.

In 2019, Modi’s occasion gained 303 out of 543 parliamentary seats, partly on account of its Hindu nationalistic agenda. Congress was a distant second with 52 seats.

Since Modi got here to energy for the primary time in 2014, the Congress occasion has additionally suffered crushing defeats in a slew of state polls. It presently guidelines solely three out of 28 states.

Plagued by management disaster and electoral routs, the occasion in October elected its first non-Gandhi president after 24 years in an try shed a picture of being run by a single dynasty.

The occasion has been led by non-family members previously, however Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had been at its helm since 1998.

The march has helped Gandhi, rankings present.

In November, polling company C-Voter mentioned Gandhi’s recognition rankings have seen a slight bounce because the march started, from 29% to 31%. The marginal enchancment in Gandhi’s recognition, nonetheless, stays effectively under that of Modi’s 66%.