BJP’s Jan Akrosh Yatra in Rajasthan fails to cut any ice

There were misgivings in mainstream media before the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan a fortnight ago on December 5. BJP national president JP Nadda had flagged off the party’s ‘Jan Akrosh Yatra’ on December 1 to highlight alleged failures of the Gehlot government. Differences between Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot were amplified in the media and media and critics alike waited for the Bharat Jodo Yatra to flounder in the state.

The Congress rank and file, however, proved critics wrong by making the Yatra a resounding success in the state.

Significantly, the Jan Aklrosh Yatra of the BJP, which was designed to hit all the districts in the state as part of the party’s preparation for assembly election next year, failed to elicit much support from even the party cadre. Lukewarm response to the Yatra was reported from the districts.

BJP’s Yatra was also designed to disrupt the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which became evident when BJP leaders complained that their Yatra was being denied permission to follow the route of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The lukewarm response to BJP’s Yatra was evident even at Jaipur’s Dasehra Maidan where few BJP supporters had turned up to see JP Nadda flag off 51 chariots for touring 200 assembly constituencies in the state. According to reports in several districts only a handful of people turned up to receive the chariots.

The failure of the Jan Akrosh Yatra is a pointer to intense infighting within the state unit of the BJP; as many as 56 of the 71 BJP legislators and 20 out of its 25 MPs said to have rallied behind former chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, dumped by the party high command in favour of Satish Punia. Even as the chariots meander through the state, the demand to replace Punia as state president has gained ground.