After the conclusion of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the rally was held on March 15 at Mumbai’s Shivaji Stadium by the I.N.D.I. Alliance is considered successful, looking at the crowd.
However, it cannot be said to be very successful in terms of the unity of the alliance. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, along with key leaders of the leftist parties, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal kept their distance from the rally. Kejriwal sent one of his ministers for representation.
However, Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar of NCP certainly appeared with Congress in full force. This sent a message that the three parties in Maharashtra, along with Prakash Ambedkar, could pose a strong challenge to the ruling BJP. Congress tried to empower Uddhav Thackeray by holding a rally at Shivaji Stadium.
The most important thing was that all the leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc parties present on the stage considered Rahul Gandhi as their leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the leaders’ target, including Rahul. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary C. Venugopal, former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, and all the top leaders of Congress from across the country were present on the stage.
Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Tejashwi Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Kalpana Soren, and others all gave special respect to Rahul in their speeches, in a way suggesting him to lead the opposition.
When Rahul Gandhi started his journey from Manipur on January 14, the shape of the I.N.D.I. Alliance was quite significant. However, as the journey progressed, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar separated himself first, followed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leaving her alliance. But the biggest blow came from the leftist parties.
In Kerala, CPI leader D. Raja’s wife is contesting against Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has urged Rahul to contest elections outside Kerala. In West Bengal, the leftist parties have fielded candidates on all seats. D. Raja and Sitaram Yechury, who have always been seen alongside Rahul Gandhi, were absent from this rally in Mumbai. The rally featured leaders from Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu and Kashmir. It was these states where Congress hoped to pose a challenge to the ruling government.
Especially in Maharashtra, if Thackeray, Pawar, and Congress stay united until the voting day, they could pose a challenge to the ruling government on some seats. Congress headquarters had given special instructions to leaders, officials, and their chief ministers from all states to reach Mumbai.
As a result, most of the Congress leaders were in Mumbai. After this rally, Congress will hold a meeting of the Central Election Committee and announce the names of candidates for the remaining seats within a day or two. Along with this, the election manifesto will be finalised, and ready to be launched in the election campaign.
