When farmers turn up to listen to ‘Indira’s grandson’, ‘Raja ka beta’

The Uttar Pradesh leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra comes to an end in Shamli district

As the Uttar Pradesh leg of the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra came to an end in Shamli district on Thursday, the ripples of the initiative could be felt in the politically volatile western part of the State.

Smoking a hookah in Sururpur village, Mehak Singh, an aged farmer, said it was after decades that he has seen the Congress presence on the road. “There was a time when farmers identified with the party because its symbol was two oxen and a cow with her calf. But over the years, the party lost touch with us. We could only see them in newspapers and posters. It was good to see Indira’s grandson coming to our village today.”

Ombir, another farmer, said Rahul Gandhi had taken a “long time to hit the road but his straight, simple talk that is making more sense after the glib promises of Narendra Modi.” He questioned the BJP’s propensity to label its critics as anti-nationals. “They didn’t even spare the farmers and are now circulating videos of our sons on the China border to thump their chests.”

Mahavir Yadav, farm labour from Bihar, said in his State, voters never really lost control over their power to change the regime but in Uttar Pradesh it seemed nobody could unseat the BJP. “ Sab garib ko khata hai, bas vote se darta hai. [Every political party eats up the poor and fears only the vote]. Now, it seems there is a contender.”

International trap shooter Seema Tomar, who turned up in support, remarked, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi created space in the hearts of people but the local leadership has lost touch with the people. We have the tradition of personally inviting the guests to weddings but the BJP it seems has started relying on WhatsApp.” This is how Congress lost its base in the 1990s. “Now, the party seems to have woken up,” she said.

However, those who designed the spectacle, perhaps, forgot that farmers don’t leave their fields in the morning. On Wednesday, from Maviakala to Gauripur in Baghpat, there was hardly any crowd but as the day progressed the curiosity to see “Raja ka beta who refused the throne” mapping the road grew. Those who had participated in the farmers’ agitation were in awe of the plush tents, huge cutouts, and stories of the variety of food on offer. The local media focussed more on the lavish preparations of the yatra and in a roundabout way questioned the funding of the exercise.

The BJP might be trying to label the Uttar Pradesh leg as an attempt of the Congress to garner Muslim votes but Mr. Gandhi is raising a wide range of issues in the midst of people. On Thursday, in Shamli, he conducted a dialogue on social justice where he talked about increasing the OBC quota and the need for a caste census. In another session on education, he discussed the flaws in the new education policy, rampant fee hikes, and privatisation of education.