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Mumbai, India – Loud chants and songs on justice echoed around Shivaji Park in Mumbai, India's financial capital, as thousands of people gathered at the iconic site that marked the beginning of independence decades ago when the country fought for independence from the British. Had continuously hosted rallies of fighters.
This time, the slogans called for a different “freedom” – from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government.
On stage, Bollywood singers Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj sang classic songs from popular films new and old. The park was decorated with flags and life-size cardboard cutouts of politicians from the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party. Police officers were everywhere, but the atmosphere was festive – almost like a rock concert. The man at the center of the incident: Rahul Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family that ruled India for most of the first 50 years after independence.
A day after the Election Commission of India announced the dates of the world's largest polling, Gandhi and leaders of other opposition parties on Sunday evening launched the election campaign of his Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) from Shivaji Park. Nearly a billion Indians will choose their next government in the seven-phase elections that will begin on April 19 and end with the announcement of results on June 4.
The India alliance is expected to challenge Modi's BJP, which is aiming to win a third consecutive term based on the prime minister's personal popularity, while Congress and other critics accuse him of dividing the country along religious lines. Is. Benefit to selected industrialists.
At the center of the opposition alliance's efforts are Gandhi's long marches across the country to garner support against Modi. His Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Uniting India for Justice March) concluded in Mumbai on Saturday.
On Sunday, supporters marched through Shivaji Park and Gandhi's message of unity and justice resonated.
Ganggu Bai, a 40-year-old cook who lives in Mumbai's Dharavi – one of the world's largest slums, made globally famous by the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire – was at Sunday's rally.
“I am here to support the future of my country. And women's rights,” she said. “This event gives me hope and it feels like it's really for the people of India,” he said.
But for Gandhi, Congress and the Indian coalition to turn that sentiment into a national wave against the ruling government, they will need votes from more than their core supporters: In the last national elections in 2019, Congress won just 52 seats in the Lok Sabha or In the lower house of Parliament, the BJP won an overwhelming majority with 303 seats.
political message
Addressing the rally, Gandhi stressed that the Bharat Alliance's fight is not against a political party (referring to the BJP) or the Prime Minister – but for the vision of India.
“There is a word in Hindu religion ‘Shakti’. We are fighting against a power. The question is, what is that power? Raja's spirit is in EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) and every institution of the country including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Income Tax Department. This is the only reason why BJP is in power.
Allegations: The “king” is Modi, EVMs can be hacked, and the government is using law enforcement agencies to force opposition members and business leaders to bow down.
#Watch , Mumbai, Maharashtra: Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “There is a word in Hinduism 'Shakti'. We are fighting against a power. The question is what is that power. Soul King The name is in EVM. This… pic.twitter.com/lL9h9W0sRf
– ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2024
Several prominent politicians from the Indian alliance like Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister MK Stalin and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also attended the rally.
“Ab ki baar, BJP tadipaar (This time, BJP will be in exile),” Thackeray said and added that those who tried to divide them (Bharat alliance) will lose.
“Wherever Rahul goes, it feels like a festival,” Stalin told the cheering crowd.
Then, he pointed to the ordeal that awaits the alliance.
He said, “The real victory of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra lies in defeating BJP and capturing Delhi.”
Are Gandhiji's Padayatras working?
Gandhi's rally at Shivaji Park came a day after the conclusion of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra – a 6,600 km (4,100 mi) journey from east to west across India, visiting each state. Their promise: Justice in terms of “Panch Nyay” or “five pillars of justice” and equality for women, youth, farmers, labourers.
During the padayatra, he announced an annual payment of one lakh rupees ($1,200) to every woman below the poverty line and 50 percent reservation in all new recruitments of central government jobs for poor families.
He began his visit to the conflict-torn northeastern Indian state of Manipur on January 15 this year, promising to bring peace to the region where tensions between the state's predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo have led to violence. , in which hundreds of people were killed and displaced. More than 60,000 people. Moving west from Manipur, Gandhi ended his march in Mumbai on 16 March.
Earlier, he had walked from south India to Kashmir in the north, between September 2022 and January 2023, in a march called Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India Walk), which focused on the fight against poverty, unemployment and growing polarization among Hindus. Was. And Muslims in India.
The same messages inspired Sudha Prakash to accompany Gandhiji on his first Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“I walked to show solidarity. I also walked to draw strength and hope from the thousands of others who walked, each with their own vision – and yet also shared – of a better India for every Indian,” said Prakash, 60, who Works as a teacher of primary education in Mumbai, told Al Jazeera.
“I got a chance to meet so many people, people from different parts of the country, doing different jobs, from different communities, representing so much of India… it was amazing . I came back happy, emotionally charged and full of hope,” she said.
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Indian National Congress spokesperson Aishwarya Mahadev described both the yatras as the biggest efforts undertaken by the Congress party in recent times to connect with the public.
“We wanted to listen to the voices on the ground and give them a voice. So during both visits we saw Rahul Gandhi listening to the voices of people from communities who are rarely heard, who have been traditionally oppressed and marginalised,” she told Al Jazeera.
“This visit is not about political pomp or chest-beating, it was about honestly reaching out to people on the ground, listening to their voices and being their voice. It has been a great success in this aspect.”
But many Indians do not agree with this. The BJP has derisively described Gandhi's often-despised Padyatras as designed not to “unite” India but to “divide” it.
Former Indian civil servant Ujal Bhatia said that he did not believe that Gandhi's padyatras would provide electoral benefits to the Congress.
“The BJP's story dominates much of the country – Hindutva, strong government and welfarism that delivers relief to the poor,” he told Al Jazeera. Hindutva refers to the Hindu majoritarian political ideology of the BJP. The Modi government has also launched several welfare schemes targeting women and other traditionally disadvantaged sections of society during its decade in power, although critics question the government's claims on the scale of delivery of these programs.
“Rahul will get a lot of good feelings from his visit but the Congress workers are weak and the Gandhi family is reluctant to hand over power to regional leaders,” Bhatia said.
Raj Malhotra, a 33-year-old lawyer from Bengaluru, shared similar views.
“Many people in the country are fed up with divisive politics and crony capitalism, but the opposition seems unafraid to use it to their advantage. A big part of this is that for more than a decade, the Congress party has neglected to address organizational weaknesses,” Malhotra told Al Jazeera and accused the party of nepotism and dynastic politics.
“Though Rahul Gandhi may still be a viable candidate, he has to suffer the consequences of being made a “Pappu” by the BJP propaganda factory. The party really needs to look inwards and sort out its internal mess,” he said. The BJP and its social media supporters have long described Gandhi as “Pappu”, a pejorative in Hindi-speaking north India for someone who is intellectually dull.
'Democracy' vs. 'Command and Management'
Sam Pitroda, a telecom engineer and advisor to India's two former Congress prime ministers, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, acknowledged that the occasion seems to be extra anarchic than the BJP. However, he stated, that is what democracy is essentially about.
“BJP relies on command and management, whereas the Congress occasion is just not structured and relies on cooperation and co-creation. So typically it seems to be like chaos. However that is the fundamental design of the occasion,” he instructed Al Jazeera. “Individuals get confused that debate and disagreement on occasion insurance policies means there’s a lack of group and unity. However if you’d like democracy, you need to let folks debate and never dictate.
“Rahul Gandhi can also be a wise and succesful chief. It’s BJP's propaganda that invests in defaming him. Pitroda stated, how about if earlier than the elections now we have a nationwide debate between Gandhi and Modi after which we will see who’s the true “Pappu”.
Mahadev stated the march has additionally performed a optimistic position in uniting Congress occasion members and employees.
“By means of the visits, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi (Rahul's sister) and different leaders have been on the bottom and employees bought an opportunity to fulfill and work together with them. This additional energized the cadre and gave them braveness to work with renewed vigour,” Mahadev stated.
“It’s a actuality that in at present's India opposition voices are suppressed and typically the longer term seems to be bleak, however by means of this sort of participation the place an activist is proven the worth of the work he’s doing on the bottom “He’s necessary, it helps to be reminded of the large position he has performed within the occasion and our success.”
What’s going to occur subsequent?
The India alliance has additionally skilled cracks with key leaders leaving the group on account of political variations. However Mahadev stated that the opposition's manifesto has been formed by means of the yatras.
“After we did the primary section of the yatra, we handed by means of totally different states and interacted with totally different stakeholders throughout the board who talked about their points. “It helped form our story and offered the premise for a lot of of our manifestos,” he stated. “Many regional events and our allies within the Indian bloc even have representations and views which might be put ahead as a part of the guarantees we make throughout the elections.”
Mahadev admitted that it was not clear what number of votes these marches would instantly garner for the Congress or its allies. However, he stated, in any case, that was by no means the first goal behind the visits.
“Their footprints could not at all times translate into votes, however the concept of the journey was to speak to folks on the grassroots degree, who come from totally different socio-economic buildings, professions and even marginalized communities,” he stated ” “These conferences weren’t political gatherings however their conversations to pay attention and perceive their actuality, perceive their points and turn out to be a voice for them.”
For Gandhi, he stated, these marches have been about striving for “peace and unity” and “preventing for India as a democracy.”