His full salt and pepper beard testifies to the miles traveled. Rahul Gandhi, who has long been ridiculed for his chubby physique, swerving, and lethargic demeanor, ditched his youthful appearance. At 52 years old, the heir to India’s most illustrious family is on a long journey that will take him from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir: 3,570 kilometers south to north, one hundred and fifty days, five months to renew broken ties with the country.

The Congress party, which he represented and which dominated Indian political life for almost fifty years after independence, is in fact now reduced to the image of a corrupt, unheard of and lazy formation, unable to stand up to Almighty Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata. Party – Indian People’s Party (BJP), Hindu nationalist establishment.

Rahul Gandhi himself unsuccessfully challenged the latter twice – in the 2014 and 2019 elections -, largely damaging his reputation in public opinion. The direct descendant of the three prime ministers – he is the great-grandson of the expert Nehru, grandson of Indira Gandhi and son of Rajiv Gandhi – came out with the nickname ‘Pappu’, idiots, idiots.

He started his “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, “India Unity Rally”, on 7 September in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, the state where his father, Rajiv, was killed by Sri Lankan Tamil terrorists on 21 May 1991, in the city of Sriperumbudur. Rahul Gandhi traveled between twenty-five and thirty kilometers a day at long strides, accompanied by one hundred and thirty walkers, members of Congress from various parts of India, and especially crowds of curious people.

From Tamil Nadu to Kerala, from Karnataka to Maharashtra, wherever he went, he was greeted with unexpected enthusiasm. In Indore, in Madhya Pradesh, on Sunday 27 November, families crowded into the streets, even perched on rooftops, to try to see him, holding up the tri-colored flag, his portrait or that of Ambedkar (1891 -1956), the father of the Constitution, champion of equality, secularism, struggle against caste. The street, decorated with festive colors, was filled with well-wishers. The success of his initiative surprised everyone, starting with a Congress that was used to biting the dust.

“The future of democracy is at stake”

“This is the first time since independence that a political leader has crossed the country on foot, to meet people of all classes, exclaimed Noori Khan, 42, a hiker and congressman from Madhya Pradesh. He was there to tell the truth, unlike Modi, who was elected based on lies and rules with lies and divisions to hide the true state of the country, inflation and record unemployment. » For political scientist Gilles Verniers, professor at Ashoka University, near New Delhi, an important sign: “The deployment of civil society actors, who are distancing themselves, is critical of the Congress and the influence of the Gandhi family in the party. »

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