More than asking voters to reject the BJP because it is arrogant and tyrannical, the Congress has to create the perception that it can win
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The Congress has finally launched its campaign for the 2017 elections with a padyatra, which took off in Pernem on Tuesday and will conclude on 13 December at Canacona. The padyatra will pass through 34 constituencies and cover 262 km and hopefully revive the fortunes of the party which, till Monday appeared reluctant to take the torch of leadership and unable to enthuse its workers.
Padyatras are journeys undertaken by political or social leaders to generate awareness or force the government to do a rethink. The most famous of them was the Dandi march launched in 1930 by Mahatma Gandhi. It eventually led to the demise of the British government in India. Many more were held in independent India and the most famous of them was undertaken by Chandrashekhar in 1983. It started in Kanyakumair on 6 January and ended on 25 June in Delhi after covering 4,260 km. Padyatras seem old-fashioned in the world of Whatsapp, Facebook and door-to-door meetings. And it looks like the Congress scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with a campaign to unite the party at a time when it faces the prospect of sitting in the opposition for a second term.
Nonetheless, for the first time the Congress has shown that it has a plan. Some months back the party had released a chargesheet against the government, which was quite impressive in its sweep. Unfortunately, it sank like a stone because there was no follow through. The intent behind the chargesheet was to list the failures of the BJP government and drum them into the consciousness of voters. This did not happen and the chargesheet was forgotten.
The padyatra will certainly have a longer shelf life but could go the chargesheet way if the message to the people is not clear. So far there has not been a clear message against the BJP. The only protest of substance reared its head in Margao when the municipality passed a resolution to denounce demonetization and the move towards a cashless society. The strong reaction in the Margao market, orchestrated by the Congress and Goa Forward shows that the opposition is still alive and if united can be a thorn in the flesh of the ruling BJP.
More than asking voters to reject the BJP because it is arrogant and tyrannical, the Congress has to create the perception that it can win. There is resentment against the BJP and the pangs of demonitisation have heightened this resentment, but people also see the opposition as a fragmented lot. Apart from attempting to win over voters, the Congress must also use this padyatra to understand the aspirations of the voter and get feedback. Because it is not too late for a grand alliance or a coalition of like-minded parties. The party must keep an open mind during the next 13 days and not forget that it used to be an ocean for all rivers to flow.
