Rahul Gandhi’s anti-BJP march across India shows Congress lacks fresh ideas, critics say

Gandhi and Congress party members will walk across India for five months to re-establish the party’s political standing and drum up anti-BJP support

Critics have slammed the long march as a ‘stale idea’ that sends a confusing message to voters given he has resigned as party chief, prompting questions about his accountability

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Rahul Gandhi and 100 of his Congress party members will march across India for five months, covering 12 out of the country’s 28 states. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:07pm, 26 Aug 2022

Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s opposition Congress party, has come under fire from critics for planning a long march with an ambiguous message to voters and for using a “stale idea” to garner political support.

Gandhi and 100 of his Congress party members will march across India for five months, covering 12 out of the country’s 28 states, to revive his party’s stagnant political standing and challenge the hegemony of the ruling, right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Political columnist Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jnr dismissed the march as “a stale idea”. He said the Congress party has failed to find “a new idea, a new issue, a new challenge, a new goal” for India that could hold greater appeal than the BJP’s brand of Hindu nationalism.

Since Narendra Modi took office in 2014, Rahul Gandhi has deployed every tool and tactic to erode Modi’s popularity but nothing has worked. Photo: Reuters

Experience had shown that the Congress party could not beat the BJP at its own game, he said. “The only thing that will work for Gandhi and his party is to offer something different and fresh that resonates with voters but they have failed to identify anything.”

The march is a last-ditch effort by Gandhi to remain politically relevant and to “connect” with Indians. Since Narendra Modi took office in 2014, Gandhi has deployed every tool and tactic to erode Modi’s popularity.

Nothing has worked. Name-calling, jibes and accusations have failed, while ridicule has mostly bounced off Modi.

Instead, it is Gandhi’s own political credibility – never very high – that has declined even further. He also consistently polls lower than Modi as a potential prime minister.