Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has dismissed the BJP's assertions that the outcomes of the 2024 elections are a predetermined conclusion, claiming "Tiger Zinda Hai" and that the opposition bloc would repeat the experience of 2004, when the saffron party was deposed from office despite its 'shining India' campaign. Ramesh told news agency PTI that only a strong Congress can assure a robust opposition, and that the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is an endeavour to strengthen the grand old party.
On how the party would handle poll preparations while also handling its east-west yatra, Ramesh said a party organisation is in place and Rahul Gandhi will participate in the campaign despite his obsession with the yatra.
"The yatra will end by the time polls start. I expect the elections to start somewhere, maybe in first week of April by which time the yatra would have been over. Meetings can always be held on Zoom. I don't see it as a problem," he said, rejecting worries that Gandhi's 6,700-kilometer yatra from Manipur to Mumbai would impede electoral preparations.
When questioned about the BJP's narrative that the 2024 election results were a fait conclusion and what he would tell them, Ramesh responded, "Tiger zinda hai, that is my constant refrain." Several BJP officials have stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will serve a third term in 2024, and the party has set a target of over 400 seats.
On whether he feels the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has a chance to surprise voters in the 2024 general elections, Ramesh said: "All I can say is that in 2003, we lost Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, people wrote the Congress off, but in 2004, the Congress formed the government. India was shining at that time." "History will repeat itself," he told PTI on Saturday evening.
People would be touched more by the 'anyay kaal' (time of injustice) of the last ten years than by the 'amrit kaal' dream, according to Ramesh.
"Amrit kaal is a dream, anyay kaal is a nightmare," he added.
In 2004, the Congress returned to power as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) administration, while the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost the election despite its high-decibel'shining India' campaign.
On whether the yatra will build opposition unity, the Congress party has also invited all INDIA bloc leaders to participate along its path, Ramesh said: "A weak Congress cannot ensure a strong opposition. Only a strong Congress can ensure a strong opposition. This 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is to strengthen the Congress." Speaking about the need for a follow-up yatra after Gandhi's Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh stated that the yatra from Manipur is a continuation of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and is derived from the first line of the Constitution, which guarantees justice to all Indians.
"There are four pillars to the Preamble: justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Now much of the Yatra had to do with liberty, equality and fraternity but now we are focusing on the first pillar which is mentioned in the first line of the Preamble- justice, economic, social and political," the Congress general secretary was quoted by PTI in its report.
"So the main focus of this yatra is to take the Bharat Jodo Yatra forward with a focus on highlighting the last ten years which were not 'amrit kaal' but 'anyay kaal' and what is the Congress' vision of ensuring political justice, economic justice and social justice," he said.
The yatra also serves to connect the leadership with the inner party structure.
"We saw the results of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and I am not judging the results by what happened in Karnataka or Telangana. As I explained once, what it did was it brought about better connectivity for Rahul Gandhi and better collectivity for the organisation," he said.
So connectedness and collectivity are critical for the organisation, he continued.
"This (yatra) is going to have an electoral impact or not is not my primary concern. It is a yatra by a political party. It is an ideological yatra and not an electoral yatra," he asserted.
Ramesh stated that he will not assess the yatra based on how many seats the Congress will win in the 2024 elections.
"What Rahul Gandhi is attempting to do in this yatra is basically reinforce the ideological message of the Congress, to highlight various injustices that have been inflicted on people and articulate over the next 66 days what the Congress and what he sees is the specific agenda for ensuring economic, social and political justice," he said.
He stated that the yatra is also about building democratic institutions, liberating the country from one-man rule, and highlighting how injustices have been perpetrated against women, farmers, and youth.
"Yes, the Congress party is ideologically committed but it needs reinforcement from time to time, it needs communication from time to time and that is what he (Gandhi) is attempting to do," Ramesh said.
He stated that it was not only about defining the agenda for the 2024 elections, but also about setting the agenda for the country's politics and public conversation.
"Of course 2024 is an intermediate milestone that we have to pass.Ultimately we have to fight polls, we are not an NGO. But I'm not going to use that as a yardstick for determining what we are going to do as part of the yatra," he stressed.
The yatra will cover 6,713 kilometres, largely by bus. In 67 days, it would visit 100 Lok Sabha seats and 110 districts before concluding in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.