Top leaders of the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) congregated at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Sunday to conclude Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which commenced in Manipur in January. The gathering of strength occurred the day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the Lok Sabha elections schedule.
During his address at the rally, marking the initiation of INDIA’s joint poll campaign bloc, Gandhi asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lacks the audacity to “alter” the Constitution. He stated that truth and the Indian populace were supportive of his stance. Other leaders of INDIA also challenged the BJP at the rally, although maintaining unity within the bloc and ensuring vote transfer remains a significant challenge for them.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav opted out of the Mumbai rally, citing the need to focus on poll arrangements in Uttar Pradesh. In a letter to Rahul Gandhi, Yadav explained his absence, citing his engagement in the Lok Sabha nomination process. Some members of the Congress have criticized the timing of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, arguing that the time spent on it could have been better utilized for election preparations.
Gandhi’s supporters have clarified that the yatra was not electoral in nature, possibly to shield him from the outcome of the 2024 election. A Congress leader questioned the timing, stating, “If this yatra was not electoral in nature, why did we conduct it ahead of the polls in the first place?”
The Opposition aspires for a repetition of the 2004 Lok Sabha election outcome. The Congress succeeded in defeating a formidable BJP, which campaigned under the “India Shining” slogan, led by the charismatic Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Despite some within the Congress losing hope, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi orchestrated an alliance that led the party back to power for the subsequent 10 years.