Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra: Politics, logistics & evolution of 'padyatras'

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is Congress's biggest ever mass contact programme yet.
Rahul is not new to the 'yatra bandwagon' and has taken part in marches before such as for the farmers' cause in Bhatta Parsaul, and a few other brief yatras, but never has he undertaken such a journey at this scale.
The yatra formation would include a Seva Dal flag contingent in front, then "Bharat Yatris" and followed by state and other yatris as well as civil society members.

The "Bharat Yatris" have also been issued standard khadi bags, which have a water bottle, an umbrella and a pair of T-shirts.
Every day of the yatra, the flag will be saluted and there will be a rendition of Vande Matram and the national anthem.
The food at the camp sites and during the "padyatra" is being arranged by the party's state units.
Padayatris rest at premises of the church on the third day of yatra

The "padyatris", including Rahul, are spending their nights in 60 containers mounted on Tata trucks that will be moved daily from one place to another.
According to Congress, the containers will be stationed every night at temporary campsites of about two acres.

They won't have a facility for having food or meetings. There is no TV inside but the containers will have a fan.
Not all containers are the same. While some are can house just one or two leaders, others have up to 12 beds.
In a video released by the Congress, some containers had attached toilets and washrooms. Some were seen fitted with air conditioners.
Here's an inside view of one of these containers, which has a bed, couch, fan and an air conditioner.

Congress said that Rahul is using a one-bed container. Senior leaders Jairam Ramesh, Digvijaya Singh and K C Venugopal are housed in a two-bed container.
Bharat Jodo Yatra organising panel chief Digvijaya Singh had said the containers are like "railway sleeper compartments". Later, Jairam Ramesh said they were like "second AC rail compartments".
At the campsite, there is also an area for having meals and a conference room container which can accommodate 10 people.

The Congress also sought to play down allegations that the containers holding the padyatris are luxurious and replete with facilities.
The grand old party alleged that the BJP IT cell was spreading falsehoods about the facilities at its Yatra campsites and in containers.
Congress's Jairam Ramesh also took a dig at the BJP, saying "this is not like the 1990 Rath Yatra – a Toyota Yatra or an Innova Yatra – ours is a Padyatra".

The attack by Congress came after it gave access to the media to its campsite in Nagercoil where the 60 containers were parked.
"The allegations that have been made by the BJP IT cell with the encouragement of the prime minister (Narendra Modi) to defame the Bharat Jodo Yatra show that the BJP is rattled," Ramesh said.
He added that the facilities are "very basic" and "very minimal".
But the BJP later again took a dig at Congress, pointing out that Rahul was wearing a T-shirt costing over Rs 41,000 during the march.
"Bharat, dekho," (India, look), the BJP tweeted from its handle and posted two pictures, one of Gandhi and the other showing the price of a T-shirt similar to the one he was wearing. The Burberry T-shirt cost Rs 41,257, it claimed.

But the Congress hit back saying the ruling party should also talk about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 10-lakh suit and Rs 1.5 lakh glasses.
"Hey...are you scared? Seeing the crowds gathered in Bharat Jodo Yatra. Talk about the issue...Speak on unemployment and inflation.

"If we have to discuss clothes, then it will go to Modi ji's Rs 10 lakh suit and his Rs 1.5 lakh glasses. Tell me what to do," the Congress said on its Twitter handle in Hindi while tagging the BJP.

The dress code for the yatra is white. All Congress members were mainly seen wearing white kurtas or shirts during the first three days of the yatra.
But there's no such diktat for shoes.
From Adidas to Asics, Congress leaders were seen sporting different kinds of shoes, which added a splash of colour to the yatra. Some preferred to walk barefeet.
Rahul chose a pair of sturdy blue Asics shoes, according to party insiders. General secretary Jairam Ramesh went for Adidas. Their party colleague Kanhaiya Kumar said he doesn't need any special footwear and the party's in charge for training Sandesh Sachin Rao walked the first day of the yatra barefeet.

Several leaders are carrying multiple pairs of shoes for the months-long march.
Rahul Gandhi, sources said, is carrying a couple of pairs of shoes in readiness to walk an average of 22-23 km a day.
Ramesh, the party's general secretary in-charge communications, found Adidas the most comfortable.

India has been witnessing political yatras for several decades now. While some changed the political fortunes of leaders and their parties, others fell flat.
Yatras themselves have evolved with times. They have also deviated from the traditional form of "padyatras" or foot march.
For instance, Rajiv Gandhi undertook a Bharat yatra to revive a struggling Congress in 1990. But the late former Prime Minister took the yatra in the second class compartments of trains, rather than on foot. However, the yatra didn't achieve the desired objectives — both logistical and political.
In 1990, then BJP president LK Advani perhaps undertook one of the most politically significant yatras in India's history. The Ram Rath Yatra of the 1990 gave a fillip to the BJP's electoral and ideological reach. As the demand for the temple gained momentum, the BJP's electoral fortunes also soared high.
This again was quite different from a padyatra. Advani undertook the journey from Somnath to Ayodhya on a chariot escorted by activists dressed as mythological deities.
The colourful chariot was an air-conditioned converted Toyota redesigned to be a rath.
It was the first such yatra of its time.
Later, political leaders used several technological innovations during their yatras, such as holograms.
In Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress is using portable containers that will allow leaders like Rahul Gandhi to spearhead the march from start to finish. It may well give a new meaning to such political yatras, which have become an ever-evolving mainstay of Indian politics.