On the one hand Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are going to polls with ruling BJP, Congress and AAP trying their best to score victory, on the other hand former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s 3750 kilometres Bharat Jodi Yatra is acknowledging tremendous support from common masses with media lauding Rahul’s brave initiative walking about twenty kilometres daily. However, there is immense need within Congress, especially by the state leaders of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh urging their leader and inspiration Rahul Gandhi to take out time or divert his Bharat Jodi Yatra to Gujarat instead of Madhya Pradesh where the ruling saffron party is running its government since the last 27 years. The disenchanted Congress leaders want Rahul Gandhi to be actively involved in election campaigning especially when prime minister Narendra Modi, union minister ( Home ) Amit Shah, party chief J. P. Nadda and all the top leaders have held number of public meetings and mass contact programmes accusing mother son due of dynasty n other charges. Even the Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh Bahadur felt an urgent and dire need for Rahul to be in the hilly state taking out sometime for Himachal Pradesh cutting short his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Not only the BJP leaders but a new entrant in Gujarat election scene, the Delhi CM n AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejrival has also held several public meetings n mass contact programmes urging the Gujarat populace of considering AAP at all costs, as Congress party had already ruled the state earlier but could not give a political alternative to the people since last protracted 27 years. Kindly recall that considered to be the B team of BJP as charged by Congress, the Congress leaders are of the strong opinion that if stalwarts like Rahul Gandhi do not divert the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat at least till elections, the Congress party may suffer badly and the AAM Admi Party may invade into the Congress vote bank which is next to BJP in the state. Kindly recall that in 2017 vociferous and dynamic Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had extensively campaigned in Gujarat, visited several temples n mosques and taken on Prime Minister strongly getting 77 seats and reducing the BJP tally below 100. The entire credit was given to Rahul Gandhi then who was the top campaigner of Congress then. Though Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is currently singlehandedly campaigning in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat but Congress leaders say that Rahul Gandhi’s absence due to Bharat Jodo Yatra, will cost the party dearly. Priyanka who is Congress party’s star election campaigner these days had left no stone unturned in Uttar Pradesh election earlier( 2017) and even in general election in ( 2019) and had attracted huge crowds during campaigning but could not lead to party’s good performance, with Congress losing badly getting negligible seats. Moreover, AAM Admi Party’s intervention in both these states especially in Gujarat wholeheartedly with Kejrival holding maximum meetings n getting massive response, Congress party is feeling politically unsecured, apprehensive of AAP eating Congress vote bank straightaway helping BJP return to power, this time too. In Uttarakhand also after AAP’s intervention and BJP playing a Muslim university n Uniform Civil Code cards leading to BJP securing power again with AAP and Congress losing badly, the Kejrival’s party had secured 4% votes definitely negatively impacting the Congress party. The crux of the story is – the Congress party leaders want that Rahul Gandhi diverts his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat and revive his party’s mojo in Gujarat, the state where BJP despite tall claims is apprehensive on anti incumbency factor having ruled this state for the last 27 years. Confronting n fighting anti incumbency , Gujarat remains a high stakes battle for Narendra Modi led NDA- BJP government in the run up to the 2024 national elections. According to some Congressmen Rahul Gandhi should have commenced his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat paying tributes to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi who started his Dandi March against the imperialist Britishers in 1930. However, after winning in two states in Delhi and Punjab, the morale of Aam Admi Party is quite high n wants to try its luck in Gujarat.
