Prashant Kishor's Verdict: Rahul Gandhi's Yatra Mistimed, Won't Impact 2024 LS Polls

prashant kishor verdict rahul gandhi’s yatra mistimed wont impact 2024 lok sabha elections

Renowned political strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday expressed his views on the potential impact of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. In an interview with Times Now, Kishor, while acknowledging the historical significance of political yatras in establishing public connection and outreach, emphasised that their influence on electoral results is not guaranteed.

“Yatras do have their own significance when it comes to public connect and outreach but It is not necessary that a yatra will have an impact on electoral results,” he said.

Drawing a parallel to former Prime Minister LK Advani’s Somnath-Ayodhya yatra, Kishor noted that while it made Advani a household name and the Ram Mandir a big political issue, it did not translate into electoral victories for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The most talked about yatra in this country till date has been Advani’s Somnath-Ayodhya yatra. It made Advaniji a household name, made Ram Mandir a political issue, the BJP was able to build its grassroots cadre because of it. However, the BJP did not gain any electoral victory due to the yatra,” Kishor said, adding that in a similar way, Rahul Gandhi’s yatra may have yielded electoral advantages in Karnataka and Telangana but failed to produce similar results in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

He further expressed skepticism about the potential impact of Rahul’s current yatra, citing its ill-timed nature. Suggesting that conducting the yatra under the banner of the INDIA alliance would have been more strategic, Kishor said, “This second yatra, I don’t see it yielding any results. Its timing is wrong. The sheer timing is wrong, because on the one hand you are doing the yatra as a Congress leader, and on the other hand, you have also made the INDIA alliance. So, if you had conducted the yatra as INDIA yatra, the constituents would have been participants of the yatra. Instead, you are doing it alone as a Congress leader. So, it is as if you are leading a multi-country army, but at time of war, the Commander-in-Chief of the multi-country army has left the headquarters and is somewhere outside.”

Calling the move “strategically and tactically wrong”, Kishor argued that it could lead to challenges, as Rahul’s focus on the yatra may divert attention from critical election issues such as alliances, seat-sharing, narrative-building, ticket distribution, and resource sourcing.

The strategist raised concerns about the lack of strategic planning, suggesting that the Congress leader’s current approach might not yield the desired results.