Why did the politicians rely on the good Rajbhasha Yatra to reach the heart of the voters? Outlook India Magazine

Thirty-one years after LK Advani hit the road with the iconic Ram Rath Yatra to garner support for the campaign to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya, yatras or road shows remain the most popular means for political parties to reach voters. Huh. Even in the age of social media, when ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ define the success of a campaign, parties of all kinds rely on visits to spread their messages. With the crucial UP assembly election early next year, followed by elections in Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur, all parties including BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP and AAP have hit the road. Thousands of farmers are also on the road against the new agriculture laws enacted by the Centre, and their protest could affect further elections.

In an effort to spread its influence beyond the national capital, AAP has launched Kisan Mazdoor Khet Bachao Yatra in Haryana to highlight the issues of farmers. The party, led by Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, is also in the midst of a Tiranga Sankalp Yatra, which will culminate in Ayodhya on September 14, where leaders are likely to visit the Ram Lalla temple. After that go to Hanumangarhi. The party claims the yatra is meant to celebrate 75 years of independence, and to emphasize national unity and integrity, but critics allege it is to weave nationalism with Hindutva—a strategy the BJP has mastered. Achieved – the real purpose.

Advani wrote in his autobiography, “It was the Rath Yatra that made me feel that if I communicated the message of nationalism through religious idioms, I would be able to reach it more effectively and to a wider audience.” my country my life (2008). While Ayodhya remains a powerful symbol, the yatras now cover a wider range of issues and areas. When the BJP sent 39 Union ministers to cover 22 states in a five-day Jan Ashirwad Yatra in late August, it aimed to interact with people on the ground, reach out to different castes and social groups, and change public perception. . To deal with the COVID-19 pandemic by the government.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh says the Jan Ashirwad Yatra was the first of its kind as it was not election centric. “The Narendra Modi government is following the philosophy of Antyodaya, according to which the benefits of politics should reach the last person. The visit enabled the newly-appointed ministers to connect directly with the people to understand their problems,” explains Chugh.

The Congress has also taken to the streets, starting the Parivartan Yatra in Uttarakhand, where it wants to return to power. Bhoomiputra Yatra was also planned in Goa, but the BJP-led state government refused to allow it, citing the COVID protocol. In Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where Congress is the main opposition party, it has started Nyay Yatra and Adhikar Yatra respectively. Nyay Yatra aims to reach out to the families of the Covid victims, Adhikar Yatra is to highlight the plight of tribal communities in MP.

Social and political scientist Suhas Palshikar says, “Yatras give political parties an opportunity to connect with common people at different places. “Given the country’s expansion, it remains a powerful tool to mobilize the masses.” Anyone who travels engages in a democratic activity that helps build vibrant relationships with people. According to Pulshikar, the public still responds to the personal contact that a visit brings. “This is a counter to the false sentiment emanating from social media. A journey provides a real sense of belonging and is still the best way to connect with common people,” he says. However, in the context of AAP’s Tiranga Sankalp Yatra, Palshikar cautioned that each party needs to find its own terminology based on its set goals and the strength of its cadre. They say that a yatra also helps the party by rejuvenating its cadre on the ground. A BJP leader says that this was an important reason for organizing the Jan Ashirwad Yatra. “After Covid and the defeat in West Bengal, party workers were discouraged and the yatra served to cheer them up. The journey required careful planning on the ground. It gave an opportunity to the cadre to engage in party work and be a part of outreach programs which were stalled due to coronavirus,” he explains.

Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who undertook the Ekta Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 1991-92 and hoisted the tricolor at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Republic Day, when terrorism was at its peak, offers a more historical, spiritual and philosophical perspective. “Let’s talk about our scriptures’charaiveti, charaiveti‘…the journey of life is like a journey,’ says Joshi. ‘Charaiveti, charaiveti’, or ‘keep going, keep going’, are the words of a hymn Aitareya Upanishad, exhorting the traveler to keep going regardless of setbacks and obstacles. Citing examples of travels by Lord Rama, Adi Shankaracharya, Gautam Buddha and the Pandavas, Joshi says that the concept of travel is centuries old in our civilization, the earliest means of communication and establishing relationships.

Long before travel became a means of consolidating vote banks, it was used in the freedom struggle against the British Raj by Mahatma Gandhi and other nationalist leaders who were leading mass movements. Gandhi’s historic 240-km Dandi Yatra in March 1930, the start of the Civil Disobedience Movement, is arguably the first in modern history aimed at mass mobilization.

In 21st century India, many political leaders have realized that the fastest way to connect with voters is to reach out to them—up, close and personal. Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee earned the title of ‘street-fighter’ as she never hesitated to go straight to the masses. In fact, his padyatra across Bengal in 2011 was one of the factors that made it possible for his party to defeat the long-standing Left Front government in the state.

In the south, YS Rajasekhara Reddy gave a new meaning to the politics of padayatra. In 2003, when he was leading the Congress in united Andhra Pradesh, YSR embarked on a 60-day, 1,500-km padyatra to highlight the problems of people facing drought and the TDP government’s perceived apathy towards farmers. He managed to strike a chord with the people in the 2004 assembly elections and came to power. Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of the late YSR, continued the padyatra legacy and undertook Praja Sankalp Yatra in 2018 to reach out to the people after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. His party YSR Congress won 151 out of 175 assembly seats in the state and 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats. In fact, YSR had only taken a leaf out of NT Rama Rao’s book. After the formation of TDP, NTR undertook the Chaitanya Ratham Yatra in 1982. The actor-turned-politician traveled nearly 40,000 km, visiting the state four times in nine months. This journey propelled him to power in 1983.

The BJP has also tried to join the travel bandwagon in South India. In November 2020, ahead of the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, its Vel Yatra (the Vel or the spear symbolizes Lord Murugan) covered six major Murugan temples. A BJP leader says, “Though we did not get political mileage from the Vel Yatra in these elections, we have kept our word and made our presence felt.” According to him, not all yatras bear immediate fruit. “They create momentum,” says another party leader. “Gandhiji’s Dandi March did not give immediate concrete results. The real fruit of Advani’s Rath Yatra is now being prepared in the form of Ram temple in Ayodhya. There is no substitute for hard work, going to the roots and connecting with people on a personal level. Social media has its limits.”

Deepak Chopra, who has been Advani’s close aide for decades, was subtly involved in the planning of the Ram Rath Yatra, and later all the other six yatras undertaken by the veteran leader earned him the title of ‘eternal traveller’. “Since the days of Jan Sangh, Advani ji had an advice for party workers:”karyakarta ka ek paer rail mein hona chahiye and doosra jail mein“(Party workers should have one leg in the train and the other in jail),” says Chopra. “Trains were important to travel and establish contact with people. Once you know the problems of the people, you have to organize protests and demonstrations to help them. And he’ll probably take you to jail. He has followed this in his political journey.

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this chariot was a hit

In September 1990, veteran BJP leader LK Advani began his Ram Rath Yatra for the Ayodhya movement. From Somnath on 25 September, the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay, the Ram Rath—a Toyota pick-up truck built to look like a chariot—was scheduled to reach its destination, Ayodhya, on 30 October after traveling 10,000 km. And the then BJP President had to join the Kar Seva there. But Ram Rath could not reach Ayodhya. The yatra was to end on 23 October at Samastipur, Bihar, as the then Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, refused permission to continue it. Advani was arrested and detained there for five weeks.

Although Advani did not reach Ayodhya then, this visit changed the fortunes of the BJP. From 85 seats in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, the party won 120 seats in 1991. The yatra managed to arouse a strong Hindu enthusiasm and served as a confirmation of the idea that religion could decide electoral fate. Advani wrote in his autobiography My Country My Life, “I had never felt that the roots of religiosity were so deep in the lives of the Indian people.” “It was during the Ram Rath Yatra that I first came to understand the truth of Swami Vivekananda’s statement that ‘Dharma is the soul of India and if you want to teach a subject to Indians, they understand it better if it is a matter of religion. be taught in the language.’.” After the overwhelming response to Advani’s Rath Yatra, parties across the country have gone back on this strategy of reaching out to the masses.

(It appeared in the print edition as “Trust Good Ol’ Journey to Reach Voters’ Hearts”)