The 62-day Bharat Jodo Nyay yatra concluded on Saturday. The difference between the two Bharat Jodo Yatras was not only that of the mechanics — one on the foot and the other mostly by bus. From nebulous commitments of love and harmony made in the first centred around the slogan Nafrat Ke Bazaar Main Mohabbat Ki Dukaan (to open a shop of love in a market of hate) the second one came up with concrete assurances in the form of five nyays that form the very crux of the Congress’s poll campaign.
The Nyay yatra’s course has been particularly rocky, meeting with setbacks every step of the way. On the very day that the yatra opened on January 14 from Thoubal in Manipur, Congress leader in Mumbai Milind Deora ended his family’s 55-year-old ties with the party to join the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena.
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The yatra and especially its timing was sharply criticised by the INDIA bloc allies, who saw it as a sign of the Congress’s indifference towards building a joint campaign for the anti-BJP coalition. Just a day ahead of the yatra’s entry to West Bengal, Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee announced her decision to not cede any seats to the Congress in her State. Ahead of its entry in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed ties and returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Within the party too, there has been criticism that the Congress took its eye off the 2024 campaign and the party’s entire machinery was geared towards the yatra alone.
Intermingling of cadres
But the Congress rejects the criticism that the yatra has been a wrecking ball. “The yatra saw an organic intermingling of the party cadres everywhere it went,” Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said. He cited the examples of huge presence of Samajwadi Party’s laal topis (red caps) at Malegaon and Thane in Maharashtra and in parts of western Uttar Pradesh, to significant participation from the Left cadres in West Bengal.
But the most significant achievement of the yatra, Mr. Ramesh underlined that it provided a platform for the voices from the ground to be heard. “The yatra provided the structure to conceive the five Nyays and the 25 guarantees and it also gave an opportunity to communicate this,” he said. Unlike the usual practice of announcing the manifesto from Delhi headquarters, these promises were made at various stops. The Kisan Nyay (justice for farmers that includes providing legal backing for Minimum Support Price) was unveiled at Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh; Hissedari Nyay (equal share in governance that includes the promise of caste census) at Ranchi; Yuva Nyay (justice for youth that include the mandatory internship commitment) at Banswara in Rajasthan; Naari Nyay (justice for women that includes promise like ₹1 lakh per annum to women) at Dhule in Maharashtra and Shramik Nyay (justice for workers that includes urban version of MGNREGA) at Dharavi in Mumbai.
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“These are the guarantees by the Congress party and not by a single person,” Mr. Ramesh remarked in an obvious jibe at the Prime Minister who has been claiming to provide “Modi ki Guarantee”.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra covered 106 districts after travelling a distance of 6,300 km. The earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra had travelled to 76 districts over 140 days.
Mr. Ramesh said that concluding the Nyay Yatra at Chaityabhoomi, Mumbai, the memorial of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the befitting tribute to the architect of the Constitution of India, particularly at a time when demands are being raised to change the Constitution.
