The Congress must serve as the "fulcrum" of any opposition coalition formed to challenge the BJP in the general elections of 2024 because it is the only political force with a nationwide presence, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday. The Congress general secretary further said that the Congress should be preparing to fight on its own in every state in the 2024 general elections.
According to Jairam Ramesh, any opposition platform to defeat the BJP must be based on two realities. "One, Congress must be the fulcrum of any opposition alliance. Without Congress, no opposition alliance is relevant or meaningful," he was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
"Two, any opposition alliance must be based on a constructive agenda, not just a negative agenda of anti-BJPism or anti-governmentism. It has to be based on a positive, constructive agenda. Now, we'll begin the process of talking to different political parties:" ANI quoted Jairam Ramesh.
Ramesh told PTI that he would certainly support another yatra from Gujarat's Porbandar to Arunachal Pradesh's Parshuram Kund this year, but that the party would have to make a decision on it eventually.
"I've certainly given it some thought. I am unable to predict whether the party will participate in such a yatra. However, when the Bharat Jodo Yatra was conceived in Udaipur, there was also consideration of moving West to East," Ramesh was quoted as saying by PTI, who, along with Digvijaya Singh, is credited with conceptualising the Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, which will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar.
The Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra began on September 7 in the country's south and ends on January 30 in Srinagar, after 145 days and 3,500 kilometres.
The cross-country foot march was in the news almost the entire time, mostly for the barbs between the BJP and the Congress, but also for other reasons, such as infighting within the opposition party.