unity-that-went-missing-from-bharat-jodo-yatra-2-0

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi entered West Bengal on January 25. Starting from strife-torn Manipur, it passed through Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and then re-entered Assam before coming to West Bengal.

 

The proposed agenda of the Nyay Yatra is to expose the ‘anyay kaal’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Apart from West Bengal, the other states through which the Yatra had travelled either have BJP governments such as Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Or, Nagaland and Meghalaya and now Bihar, too, where the BJP is an alliance partner in the government. However, in Bengal, the political dynamics were different. Hence it was obvious to expect that the ‘Nyay’ Yatra would do ‘justice’ to its name, creating a huge impact on the people of West Bengal and the nation at large.

 

It is known to all that in Bengal, the other two political outfits — Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) — are among the 28 parties which have come together to fight the BJP by forming the INDIA bloc— the sustainability of which has been questioned time and again.

 

Neither the TMC nor the CPI(M) came out to support the Rahul-led Yatra in the state on the first day. Political rivals in the state, unequivocally, drubbed the concept of ‘unity’, which they vouched for at the national level.

 

A day before the Yatra reached the state, the TMC declared to contest the Lok Sabha election alone. West Bengal Chief Minister — Mamata Banerjee is considered to play a pivotal role in the Opposition alliance — even expressed her dissatisfaction, claiming that there was not even a courtesy call from the Congress leadership, informing her about the Yatra reaching the state on a given date, let alone an invitation. The Congress had, however, refuted the TMC supremo’s claim and asserted that she was sent an official invitation from the party.

 

While we do not know whose claims are to be believed, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi could have taken charge to dissolve the internal rift between the Congress and TMC, eyeing the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

 

However, his inactive self might have taken over and after addressing the media in Cooch Behar — on the first day of the Yatra in the state — he abruptly chose to leave for New Delhi. In a shocking move, unlike the other places from where the Yatra had passed, Rahul did not make the effort to walk the streets and interact with the locals of Cooch Behar. He, on the other hand, occasionally waved at the locals while sitting in his bus. And then took another vehicle to reach a nearby Air Force station from where he flew to Delhi.

 

Even if resistance received from the locals and the uncooperative attitude of the allies dampened his spirit, he could have used that as a guiding force to outshine himself. One wonders whether he was given a warm welcome in previous states that made him hold his ground and raise his voice for ‘nyay’. Resistance either gives one the power to fight with all their might or makes one lose the battle even before trying. The latter would have been the case with Rahul in Bengal.

 

The crux of the Yatra lies in reaching out to the locals in person and when that goes missing, the whole attempt is reduced to an eyewash. This is exactly what happened at the beginning of the Bengal leg of the Yatra.

 

The Yatra was on a two-day break in the state. The time was enough for Rahul to talk to the state leaders and remind them of the larger goal which they have set for 2024. However, no such attempt was made by him.

 

After two days of holiday, the Yatra resumed from North Bengal — Siliguri and Jalpaiguri — on January 28, where addressing the crowd, Rahul underscored Bengal’s contribution in showing the path to the world to fight against hatred. He invoked Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose and Vivekananda in his speech. He iterated, “Bengal will unite Bharat with their intellect”.

 

The speech does find resonance with the fear of losing CM Mamata Banerjee from the INDIA bloc, after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. And, thus, it appeared like an urge to CM Banerjee to be in solidarity with the Opposition alliance.

 

Although the Yatra did not bear fruitful results in West Bengal, marred by unexpected deadlocks, on Sunday, the Left came out in support of the Grand Old Party of India and joined the Yatra. The CPI(M) leaders had earlier cleared their stance that if TMC joins the Yatra then they will stay aloof. And, thus, the TMC’s absence from the Yatra made the Left come out in support of it.

 

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was nothing short of a flop show in West Bengal, at least in its first section. After having travelled across Bihar, the Yatra re-entered Bengal on January 31. This time, the allies (TMC and Congress) appeared to be taking on each other head-on.

 

The Yatra re-entered from Malda district of the state and CM Mamata Banerjee, too, did a rally at the same place but not in connection with the Congress. On the other hand, she snubbed the Congress for taking support from the CPI(M).

 

“I will not cooperate with them who take support from the CPI(M), which has failed the people of Bengal for 34 years and humiliated me on several instances,” said CM Banerjee from a rally in Malda.

 

Left leaders, on the contrary, came out in support of Rahul. On February 1, when the Yatra reached Murshidabad, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim and central committee member Sujan Chakraborty joined the Yatra, while holding their party flags they were shouting slogans, supporting Rahul.

 

“We have decided to support the Yatra in our state because we want to take part in the fight for justice. Several leaders had extended their support to the Yatra when it started. However, very few of them are holding their ground in support of Rahul. Irrespective of whoever chooses to leave the ship, we will stand in solidarity with Rahul to fight the BJP,” said Chakraborty.

 

On Friday (February 2), the Yatra completed its Bengal leg. And with its completion, there has been a seismic shift in Bengal politics. On one hand, CM Banerjee has appeared to be entirely antagonistic towards the Congress, leaving one questioning her role in the Opposition alliance. On the other hand, one can expect the Congress and CPI(M) to fight the Lok Sabha polls in alliance just like they did in 2019.

 

But, notably, amid the developments, the ‘unity’ among the allies in the state appeared a distant dream, about the objective of the INDIA bloc.