Rahul Gandhi, a prominent member of the opposition Congress party, has started a 4,163-mile (6,700-kilometer) Nyay Yatra across India with only a few months till the general election.

It occurred roughly a year after Mr. Gandhi completed a 4,000-kilometer “unity march” that carried him from Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari at the southernmost end of the nation.

This time, the trip would take him by bus and on foot from east to west. He intends to cover 100 parliamentary seats, dispersed across 110 districts across 15 states—many of which are crucial in elections—before arriving in Mumbai in 66 days.

As Mr. Gandhi began his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (United India Justice March) on Sunday in Imphal, the capital of the northeastern state of Manipur, Congress flags fluttered in the air.

Over the past eight months, Manipur’s Meitei majority and Kuki minority have engaged in brutal ethnic clashes. Thousands of families have been forced to relocate due to violence, which has claimed the lives of over 200 individuals.

But on this lovely afternoon, thousands of women cheered as well-known Congressmen addressed the gathering while being guarded. Among them, Waikhom Ibemma Devi commented on how hard life is in the state. “Whenever I go to a relief camp, I feel sad looking at the victims,” she said.

“We acknowledge the pain that the people of Manipur have gone through. And we will bring back what you valued, we vow to you, Mr. Gandhi stated to the assembly.

Tehseen Poonawala, one of the many analysts and Congress supporters who claimed that the unification march of the previous year had improved Mr. Gandhi’s political standing and “recharged party workers and gave the Congress organization, often criticized for being lethargic, a shakeup.”

They expect the current campaign, which advocates for economic, social, and political justice for the majority, to go in the same direction.

According to writer and novelist Neerja Chowdhury, “People like it when politicians come to them to listen but whether this makes a difference in the elections is debatable.” This statement relates to the party’s chances in the polls.

The march is being held in an attempt by the opposition to prevent India’s immensely popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi from winning three straight elections.

A new survey indicates that many anticipate him to hold onto power. As the fight for 2024 gets underway, “the incumbent BJP [Bharaitya Janata Party] unquestionably maintains the upper hand,” according to Milan Vaishnav, a senior scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The BJP has always presented Gandhi as a carefree politician who grew up in prosperity. It was last week when Party chief Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Rahul Gandhi is not taken seriously in our country.”

In India, the Congress just lost three state elections, leaving the BJP in charge of 12 out of 28 states, with coalition administrations in three of those states. After India gained independence in 1947, the Congress ruled the country for many years, but it currently only holds power in three states.

The opposition has charged that during Mr. Modi’s ten years in office, there has been a decline in democracy and civil liberties, misuse of federal investigative agencies, damage to government buildings, and an upsurge in hate crimes and violence against minorities and marginalised communities. The government has vehemently denied these allegations.

After over 150 opposition MPs were recently suspended for calling for a government statement regarding a security breach in the house, tensions between the two sides worsened.

In such a politically charged milieu, it’s hardly surprising that some, like former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha, are characterizing the next elections as a “do or die situation” for the opposition.

The party believes that by utilizing Mr. Gandhi’s justice march and launching the campaign in war-torn Manipur, they would grab the public’s and media’s attention.

After a video of a crowd harassing and parading two nude women went viral online in July, the violent dispute in the tiny state—which has long been sidelined in Indian politics—attracted attention from around the world. Prime Minister Modi called the incident “shameful”.

Still, the Congress has repeatedly criticized Mr. Modi for not visiting the state and for refusing to step in to stop the bloodshed that is still going on.

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“Why is the Prime Minister silent for eight months?” The Congress politician Jairam Ramesh told the BBC that “he hasn’t been in Imphal even for an hour.”

The marchers were hopeful about the outcome even though they had little faith in politicians of any color.

“Our Manipur is burning,” party worker Maibam Sarda Leima exclaimed. “[But] we hope Mr Gandhi will understand our problems and talk about them.”

Women in an assault video “won’t give up” when a state in India supports Modi’s reelection.

In the march, the Congress is holding intensive negotiations for elections with the members of INDIA, a coalition of 28 regional parties that oppose the government and have quite different political agendas.

Many observers believe that the alliance is still struggling to make strong cases for leadership that will act as a “counterpoint to Mr. Modi” and seat sharing.

There are also hints of discord within the alliance over the timing of the march. KC Tyagi of Janata Dal (United) voiced concerns over Mr. Gandhi’s prolonged absence from Delhi and its impact on election campaigns, discussions about seat sharing, and arrangements for public gatherings meant to present a united opposition front.

“[The march] is not appropriate at this time,” he said. “If you are so serious about national integration, go for a long march in June or July [after the elections].”

But among other coalition members, Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (the Sharad Pawar group) said that Mr. Gandhi’s march would not be an issue and that he would be available by phone if needed.

The march started one week ahead of Mr. Modi’s planned ceremonial launching of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, to which notable Congress leaders have declined invitations.

The site has long been the focus of a heated debate between Muslims and Hindus since it is believed by Hindus to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. In 2019, Hindus were permitted by the Supreme Court to build a temple on the land.

The nation’s largest outreach program to persuade citizens to organize celebrations across the country has already been initiated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP’s spiritual leader and longstanding champion of the cause.

The Congress labeled the meeting as the BJP’s “political project” for electoral gains, notwithstanding the statement that religion was a matter of personal choice and that any Congress worker was invited to participate. Several well-known Hindu seers declined the offer, arguing that it was against Hindu tradition.

The BJP has branded the Congress position as “anti-Hindu”. The pro-government electronic media is covering the huge event in great detail, and it will be interesting to see how the rivalry for media coverage intensifies in the lead-up to the elections.

SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67911170