The Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi, which barely touched Uttar Pradesh and was in the state for only three days, has enthused the rank and file of the party. Congress leaders maintain that the response of the people to Rahul’s yatra in western Uttar Pradesh was overwhelming in view of the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been a dominant force in the state for the last eight years and this region is viewed as a stronghold of the saffron party.
The Congress leaders point out that besides the response of the common man cutting across caste and creed, the enthusiastic turnout of Muslims in Loni area of Ghaziabad, Kairana and Baghpat was very encouraging for the grand old party, which has been out of power in Uttar Pradesh for over three decades.
“Muslims of Uttar Pradesh are no longer enamoured of the Samajwadi Party. The defeat of the SP candidate in the by-election to Rampur Lok Sabha seat in June last year and later the victory of the BJP in the bypoll to Rampur assembly seat, a strong hold of the Muslims who have over 50 per cent population in Rampur city, has disillusioned the Muslims,” said a Congress leader, and added, “Muslims, particularly in western UP, have concluded they have had enough of the regional parties and it is time to return to the national party.”
“The western Uttar Pradesh districts from where the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through have a substantial Muslim population. From madrasa children to burqa-clad women, to ulemas, a lot of people were seen walking with Rahul Gandhi or standing in queues to greet him,” a Congress leader said.
Congress maintains that Rahul Gandhi has been trying to reach out to the Muslim community by relentlessly attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “Not many parties are speaking for Muslims, but he is,” the Congress said.
Is this a warning signal for the SP that has had Muslims as its core vote bank along with Yadavs? SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary says it is not.
“We are not fighting the Congress. Our fight is with the BJP,” he says.
The next Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are due in 2027, but these overtures are being made keeping in mind 2024 when India will vote to elect its new government.
The Congress had sent invites to the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra but they declined. UP is a state where the Congress has lost its decades of dominance and is struggling for relevance. It is a significant state for the Gandhi’s who came from Allahabad (now Prayagraj).