Playing against BJP on Congress-prepared pitch due to Bharat Jodo Yatra: Ramesh

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra has ensured that the Congress is now setting the political narrative in the country and the BJP has been made to play on a pitch prepared by his partyIn an interview with PTI on the yatra completing 100 days Ramesh also said that Rahul Gandhi is trying to sharpen the ideological basis of the Congress and is working along with the partys elected president Mallikarjun Kharge as a jugalbandi togetherAsked whether the party could undertake another such yatra next year Ramesh said I would certainly love to participate in a Porbandar Gujarat to Parshuram Kund Arunachal Pradesh Yatra but whether we can do it next year and how we can do it next year it has to be discussed and debated in appropriate party forumsThe Congress general secretary incharge communications asserted that through the Bharat Jodo Yatra Gandhi has given a new direction to the political discourse and the Congress has set the narrative for the last 100 daysThe Congress has been applauded criticised praised reviled What it means is that we were on the defensive we were always reacting to what the BJP was saying or what it was doing but through the Bharat Jodo Yatra I think we have succeeded to a very large extent in being able to set the terms of debate and the narrative in the political discourse Ramesh saidHe said the yatra has had an electrifying internal effect on the organisation as well as on the external world of Indian politicsAlso Read Elections are not beauty contest says Jairam RameshRamesh claimed that due to the yatra the BJP is on the back foot disturbed and nervousI think we have succeeded in changing the terms of the debate The narrative is on our pitch now We are playing cricket against the BJP on a pitch that is prepared by us we are not playing cricket against the BJP on a pitch prepared by them that is the difference he saidAsked if Rahul Gandhi was now the consciencekeeper of the party Ramesh said thats a strong word and one does not emerge as a conscience keeper through just one yatraHe Gandhi is raising issues which should be of deep concern to the Indian citizens He is certainly seen as the ideological compass for the Congress party We have a fulltime elected Congress president and in Rahul Gandhi we have somebody who is trying to sharpen the ideological basis of the Congress he saidHe and Kharge ji are working as a jugalbandi To that extent he Gandhi has certainly succeeded in energising the party organisation Congress workers supporters and giving them a new hope that the Congress party will reestablish itself as the preeminent political force in the country he saidAsked if the yatra would have an electoral impact in the states of Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan and Karnataka that go to polls next year Ramesh reiterated that it is not an electoral yatra but an ideological oneIt is a yatra to capture the battlefield of ideas battlefield of ideologies Yes we are not an NGO we are not a sanyasi battalion we are a political party and we exist to fight elections and fight elections to win but whether this Bharat Jodo yatra will have a positive electoral impact it depends entirely on the Congress organisation he saidIf we have unity if we have discipline if we have a sense of collective purpose then I think we will be able to take forward the message of the Bharat jodo Yatra and gain electoral success he addedThe yatra was not started to win Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha but to strengthen the ideological moorings of the Congress reestablish the connect with the people reinforce a sense of collective purpose to combat the three big challenges of economic inequality increasing social polarisation and established political authoritarianismAsked about the tussle between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot Ramesh reiterated Gandhis earlier statement that both leaders are assets for the partyWhatever way forward is found by the Congress party and the high command the principle is very clear the organisation is supreme Individuals come and individuals go but it is the organisational interests that are paramount he saidI would stress on the supremacy of organisational interest and I am sure that is what is on the minds of the Congress president and others who are working to find a solution he saidRamesh also contended that because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra Gandhi has been able to reestablish in the public eye who he really is caring compassionate and sensitiveI have said earlier and I would like to repeat this is not a new Rahul Gandhi this is the real Rahul Gandhi which the country is seeing through the Bharat Jodo Yatra he saidRamesh also slammed those who criticise the Congress unnecessarily saying the Congress bashing is a favourite pastime of not only the rightwing but also of the liberal commentariatI think that needs to stop To a large extent because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra this Congress bashing has moderated in tone I dont think it has vanished but it has moderated in tone he saidRamesh said the large liberal constituency in our country must recognise the only way to defeat the polarising and poisonous agenda of the RSSBJP is by strengthening and reinvigorating the Congress party its values and its ideologyThe yatra which was launched on September 7 in Kanyakumari has completed 102 days and traversed eight states Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka Telangana Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh and now RajasthanThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever