For the last few months, Congress is trying to change the image of Rahul Gandhi once again through Bharat Jodo Yatra. The grand old party appears to be upbeat about the prospects of ‘Yuvraj’ getting a new and more acceptable persona, which may find more acceptability with voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, despite spending so much effort and money to create a complete image of the Lok Sabha MP, the move is not catching the attention of many in the Bharatiya Janata Party. The saffron outfit feels the visit is just the latest in several attempts by the Congress to oust the Wayanad MP from the “Pappu” image.
Should the BJP be worried that Rahul’s walkathon has become a talking point among Indian voters?
No, say almost everyone in the BJP whom News18 spoke to. According to the discussions going on in the inner circles of the party, the Congress is trying its best to help Rahul lose the ‘Pappu’ tag attached to him whenever he tries to emerge as a mass leader. Is. His comments lead to and go on to a number of issues. They say that the most recent reason was the fear of cold, due to which people were wearing warm clothes.
While some see the visit as an attempt by Rahul to reassert himself as the leader of the party and unite the workers, many believe that his actions contradict all that They do what they are on the streets to achieve. And the current examples are the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, from where he was almost completely absent.
Many in the BJP were appalled by his actions and say that Congress leaders, in their private conversations with their BJP counterparts, expressed their dismay at seeing him addressing only two rallies and focusing more on his ambitious journey. This also benefited the BJP as it created history by winning for the seventh consecutive time in Gujarat with a record majority.
BJP leaders kept it Rahul Gandhi He is a star campaigner and whenever he speaks the party gets more votes. But is a freshly minted, confident Rahul a cause for concern for the BJP in the assembly or state elections? Or does the BJP believe that Rahul will do more damage to regional parties than help the saffron outfit win a landslide victory?
Leaders say that Rahul Gandhi has been a favorite of the BJP and whenever elections are round the corner and if he addresses a rally, many of them listen just to have fun at their expense. A senior leader said, “Whatever he said because of his ignorance about the life of the common man or common sense on a technical subject, it always worked for us.”
‘You gain by walking, you gain by speaking’
Has the public perception of Rahul changed, and is the BJP worried?
The answer is clearly a big “no”. The BJP still mocks him when he tries to be obtuse and witty in his replies. As a senior BJP leader says, “pedal chalne se kamta hai, bolne se ganwata hai”. He walks but when he speaks he loses everything. Doesn’t he know or is it said that speaking against Savarkar and the RSS in Maharashtra would be unacceptable to the people of the state? I wonder who gives him these ideas, and whether he’ll ever be able to get over his stupidity as people make fun of him.
What has Bharat Jodo Yatra achieved, BJP wonders?
Party leaders say that when Adi Shankaracharya started touring the country, it was with a purpose. Its objective was to revive and protect Hinduism. To revive the culturally and traditionally rich heritage. What is being asked all around is what Rahul Gandhi is achieving with his “Pedal Yatra”.
“Nothing. There may be places where his party workers can feel refreshed, but nothing more.” In fact, party strategists were quick to point out that the Wayanad MP did not visit any important Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu, from where he started his journey.
‘Opposition unity a distant dream’
“Majoritarianism and nationalism under the leadership of a leader working round the clock in the form of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are the two main planks where BJP is strong. What would be gained by traveling aimlessly? Congress knows that 2024 has passed. The popularity of the Prime Minister has increased over the years,” argued a BJP leader.
The BJP is well aware of the frustration of the Congress as it tries to make Rahul the real contender for the prime ministership Narendra Modi before the 2024 elections. But the saffron party feels that by starting this yatra, Rahul is trying to prove himself as a capable leader for the Congress party and he is not yet ready to take over the top leadership of the BJP. This was evident as the Congress was struggling to present a united front in Rajasthan during the yatra.
“I think he is out to unite the Congress rather than the country and even that goal seems unattainable as rifts between state leaders in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan have become public. So, one wonders why is he running?” said one of the leaders.
The BJP’s top leadership is not much concerned with Congress’s attempts to revive Rahul’s image as they feel that by embarking on this journey, the party has not yet been able to establish the Wayanad MP as a leader who can is taken seriously. within their own ranks.
It is widely believed in the BJP that repeated attempts to create new avatars for the Gandhi scion will not prove beneficial for the Congress as his current image was built over decades and will take the same amount of time to sculpt. a new one.
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