What About Congress Jodo?

A procession is transient. Rahul’s yatra won’t repair the party’s fractured organisation

- Gilles Verniers

Rahul Gandhi’s five-month, cross-country Bharat Jodo Yatra, says Congress, will carry the party’s message to the nation as well as re energise an ailing organisation. True, after a string of electoral defeats, multiple high- and low-profile desertions and with a party leadership in the doldrums, Congress workers are in dire need of attention and motivation. But can the yatra help Congress regain the trust and credibility it has lost since 2014?

After more than eight years of BJP at the Centre, Congress is left with two CMs. It has the lowest number of MLAs it ever had (690 against 1,207 before 2014). The party has seen a severe erosion of its organisation on the ground, with many candidates, representatives and party workers deserting, to either join other partiesor to leave active politics altogether.

● From 2014 elections (including by elections), 64 Congress members contested on other party tickets (41 in 2014 and 23 in 2019).

● Over the same period, across all states, 553 Congress MLAs and 134 unsuccessful Congress candidates have left the party to try their luck under a different banner (233 of them won subsequently, including 107 on BJP tickets).

● And this data only considers individuals who previously contested on a Congress ticket. It does not include office bearers and party workers, for which there is no reliable information. It is unclear how the Bharat Jodo