Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, the Congress party is fighting for its survival. Having steadily lost relevance among the electorates under the leadership of the Gandhi family, the grand old party is making a last-ditch effort to turn its political fortunes.
Dubbed as ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Congress kickstarted its 3,570-km march from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday (September 7). The march will last over 5 months and will cover 12 States before terminating at Srinagar.
Rahul Gandhi and 118 other Congress leaders are planning to walk 22-23 km daily in two batches, one from 7 am – 10:30 am and again from 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm. The party is hoping to mobilise the masses during its evening sessions.
The ‘foot march’ is also accompanied by a convoy of 59 containers, which are colour coded as per the availability of beds. The Congress leaders sleep in these containers, which are mounted on trucks. They camp on the roadsides, eat food made by cooking staff and get clean laundry once every 3 days.
The luxurious containers are equipped with air conditioners and modern amenities. One of them has even been turned into a mini-conference hall. Rahul Gandhi, the leader spearheading the padyatra, has a container to himself.
Labelled No.1, the container of the Gandhi dynast has a bed, attached bathroom and a couch. It is stationed in the yellow zone. His security team sleep in container No 2 while his staff, Alankar Sawai and K B Byju, are housed in Container No 4.
Congress Secretarty Vamshi Chand Reddy and General Secretary are housed in Container No. 3.Similarly, blue zone containers have 2 beds and a washroom. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh sleeps in one such container (No 15).
There are also pink zone containers for female travellers with 2 lower berths and 2 upper berths. Besides, they are equipped with attached bathrooms and storage spaces. On the other hand, red and organe zone containers house up to 4 people but have no toilets.
A few containers have also been turned into common washrooms and have been marked with the letter ‘T.’ The participants are also accompanied by housekeeping staff, whose job is to change the linen and bedding each morning once the morning foot yatra resumes.
The Congress leaders dine in a common area. They have been instructed to not consume liquor and tobacco at the campsite. The participants of the foot yatra have also been told to not eat inside the containers.
Despite high security for Rahul Gandhi, the containers bear a notice that said that the management team would not be responsible for the loss of personal belongings. While the Congress is aiming to connect all Indians, the party leaders themselves are divorced from the hard realities facing real India.
