The Yatra Factor: How Bharat Jodo Yatra changed Congress’ fate in Karnataka

Karnataka: With the Indian National Congress (INC) showing all signs of winning the Karnataka Assembly elections by an absolute majority, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra seems to have truly made an impact on the elections.

BJP has won zero seats in the route Rahul Gandhi walked during the Yatra while Congress is winning 17+ on the route.

Of the 12 states and two Union Territories (UTs) that the 4,000-km BJY covered in 136 days—from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on 7 September 2022 to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on 30 January 2023—it was only Karnataka where the first real test of the yatra took place. Rahul Gandhi entered Karnataka on 30 September 2022 at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagara district. He passed through Chamarajanagara, Mysuru, Mandya, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary, and Raichur, traversing a distance of over 500 kms in about 22 days in the state.

The Yatra passed through 75 districts, including districts in Karnataka. In the 20 Assembly constituencies through which the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed, Congress got 15 seats there, while BJP got only two seats.

In 2018, the Congress party had secured 5 seats in the Karnataka Assembly elections and the BJP had won by 9 seats.

In a tweet, Rajya Sabha MP Jayram Ramesh commended the Yatra’s impact on the party’s success and wrote, “While this is the direct impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, the intangible impact was uniting the party, reviving the cadre and shaping the narrative for the Karnataka elections. It was during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from the many conversations Rahul Gandhi had with the people of Karnataka, that the guarantees and the promises in our manifesto were discussed and finalised.”

2018 vs 2023: Drastic change

As on 4 p.m., of the 20 Assembly constituencies, 15 have gone to the Congress. These include Ballari, Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga, Mandya, Mysuru, and Tumakuru.

The numbers were totally opposite in the 2018 elections when BJP won a majority in the same Assembly constituencies.

While everyone is busy in watching Kanakpura, Varuna, and Babaleshwara seats, B. Nagendra of Congress has defeated the BJP’s ‘millionaire’ minister Sriramulu in Bellary.

Several incumbent ministers of the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government and the Assembly Speaker lost the elections, the results of which were declared on Saturday. They include B. Sriramulu, K. Sudhakar, J.C. Madhuswamy, Govind Karjol, M.T.B. Nagaraj, and K.C. Narayana Gowda aside from Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.

· Kageri lost to Bhimanna Naik of Congress in Sirsi seat.

· Sriramulu, the transport minister, was defeated by B. Nagendra of Congress in Ballari by nearly 29,300 votes.

· Health minister K. Sudhakar lost to Pradeep Eshwar (Congress) in Chikkaballapura.

· Law & parliamentary affairs minister J.C. Maduswamy was defeated by C.B. Suresh Babu of JD(S) in Chikkanayakanahalli.

Surprisingly, in all the seats that BJP leader Bandi Sanjay campaigned for, the BJP suffered a crushing defeat in the third and fifth positions.

‘Sanjeevini’ for the Congress

Speaking of the Congress’ performance in the southern state, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “It was the Sanjeevini for the party. It energised the organisation and instilled a deep sense of unity and solidarity among leaders and workers.”

“The Bharat Jodo Yatra started a particular narrative in Indian politics which the people of India were waiting for,” Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said when asked about the Yatra factor.

“In Karnataka, the Bharat Jodo Yatra spent about 22 days. If you remember the visuals of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi being drenched in the rain and continuing his speech in October, I think these visuals have stayed in people’s mind,” he added.

Inputs from PTI