On Thursday, Rajya Sabha MP and the party’s general secretary media in-charge Jairam Ramesh announced that Rahul Gandhi’s upcoming Bharat Nyay Yatra, supposed to be Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0, has been renamed as the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
The march will start in Manipur on 14th January 2024 and cover 6,713 km and 15 states in eastern and western India last for 66 days and end in Mumbai in March.
Ramesh speaking to the media said “From September 2022 to January 2023, Rahul Gandhi’s 4000-km Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari was a transformative padyatra. It changed Indian politics and energised the Congress party and enthused the party cadre across different states. The yatra was a milestone in our party’s history as well as in India’s history.”
As per reports, one question is coming up in whether Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is trying to change his image with the two Bharat Jodo Yatra.
What Do Experts Say?
During the first Bharat Jodo Yatra, his bearded look made a lot of headlines and experts believed his new look showcased his transformation and changing public perception.
Prahlad Kakkar, an advertising industry veteran speaking with PTI said “… The beard has given him a certain degree of seriousness. He has arrived as a man, he is no longer Indira Gandhi’s grandson, Rajiv Gandhi’s son. He is now Rahul Gandhi, the man. That is a very critical change in how people perceive him today.”
Rohit Ohri, CEO of media firm FCB Group India also commented on the beard saying “As a symbol it stands for… the new wisdom of age, the hard labour of the prince, the nation-before-self belief and the tough never-say-die spirit.”
Suman Agarwal, co-founder of Image Consulting Business Institute also spoke about the new look saying its part of strategic dressing.
She was quoted by PTI saying “His intent is to break the stereotypical image of a politician and get a new look. Our new generation believes in living on their own terms, a little unkempt and imperfect look depicting that ‘I have more important things to focus on’.”
In an analysis report by Economic Times after the Congress party’s defeat to BJP in the recently held assembly elections called out several things wrong the Congress party was doing.
As per the report, the constant push for the Gandhi siblings, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi would just “give BJP what it wants – the ‘Modi Vs Gandhis contests’ that keeps the “anti-dynasty” plank sizzling.”
Shubhabrata Bhattacharya in an opinion piece written on NDTV, wrote that “Rahul Gandhi’s trusted advisors have a penchant for making statements that queer the pitch for the Congress before elections” further adding that the statements only “caused indelible damage.”
Read More: Fake Friendly Fridays: Rahul Gandhi Tells Us Why He Loves Criticising His Own Country Internationally
What Do People Say?
As for the common people, it seems that while some did see a shift of opinion soon after the first Bharat Jodo Yatra had started, it has not gone up in a very drastic way since.
Rahul Gandhi’s recent video campaign that went viral of him making marmalade with his mother, Sonia Gandhi, did not exactly have a very good reception.
Many people commented on it being out of touch with the masses and some said that while the Congress MP himself seemed like an alright person, the world of politics was not for him.
In a Reddit thread around three months ago with the question “What do you think about Rahul Gandhi now honestly?” there were mixed reactions to him.
User iwastetime4 commented “I like his current messaging, much more positive and solution-oriented than the opponent. Whether he’ll follow through on his promises is to be seen if he gets elected.”
To this user, wellfuckit2 replied “True. But I am disappointed with how they are handling Karnataka. Given that this could have been an opportunity to show how they can be the better alternative, it’s very disappointing. Here they are no better than the previous corrupt party. No radical changes to fix the civic issues. With this it feels like he is just talking and trying to change the image. The party will do nothing differently once they get power.”
User Miserable_Age_7249 also wrote “He’s a part of the opposition and not the most relevant person but still mKing good effort raising voices in right direction. We can name call anyone pappu, jhappu, gappu, feku, etc, and it’s just pure social media bullying. People should learn to ask questions from the ruling party if they want to live in prosperity.”
Another user Archaemenes pointed out that “He doesn’t have a track record so it’s difficult to judge how good of an administrator he can be. Unlike pretty much every former PM (except ironically, his own father), he has never held a major Ministry. He should probably try heading an agency or a state first before running for national elections.”
Other comments in the thread did seem to point toward how although people did not have an issue with Rahul Gandhi and some even accepted that he had managed to change his earlier ‘Pappu’ image, however, there did not seem to be actual measures taken by him that could lend toward public trust in his leadership abilities.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Economic Times
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Congress, Democracy, Indian Politics, Narendra Modi, pm modi, PM Narendra Modi, Rahul gandhi, Rahul Gandhi Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi image, Rahul Gandhi image makeover, Rahul Gandhi jam, Rahul Gandhi Bharat jodo yatra, Bharat jodo yatra
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