For every Azad and Scindia who leave, Congress will have 25 others: Jairam Ramesh
“For every Ghulam Nabi Azad and Scindia (Jyotiraditya Scindia), the Congress will have 25 others. The party’s youth cadre is getting strong and in the upcoming days you will see a lot of youngsters getting crucial responsibilities in the party,” Ramesh stated
Advertisement
Senior leaders leaving the party won’t likely leave a hole, according to Jairam Ramesh, a spokesperson for the Congress, because there are many workers and leaders who can take their place. On Wednesday, he was speaking to The Indian Express when Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra moved through the Chitradurga district of Karnataka.
“For every Ghulam Nabi Azad and Scindia (Jyotiraditya Scindia), the Congress will have 25 others. The party’s youth cadre is getting strong and in the upcoming days you will see a lot of youngsters getting crucial responsibilities in the party,” Ramesh stated.
Asked about the participation of youths in the yatra, he said that the average age of those participating in the march is 34 years. “Rahul Gandhi’s image has drastically changed in the last 35 days. The image projected by the BJP is vanishing,” he said
Advertisement
According to a source in the party’s national section, the Youth Congress would undergo certain changes after the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Jairam Ramesh said that though its focus has been to reach out to the public, it is a basis for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Yes, this yatra is not intended towards electoral politics but will set the stage for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The challenge is how we sustain the momentum and bring organisational reforms. It will be addressed in the coming days,” he added.
When asked about the narrative they are trying to set in the days to come, Ramesh said that at the national level, they will raise issues of financial inequality, polarisation and political centralisation. “Even RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale has spoken about economic inequality recently and the BJP will have to accept the fact. Price rise, increase in poverty in the country and ignorance of constitutional bodies through political centralisation will be the issues that we will speak about,” he said.
Asked whether they have noticed any impact on the ground, Ramesh said the BJP’s Janasankalpa programme is a reaction to the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “The BJP has nothing to show in the state when it comes to its work or achievements. The negative propaganda against the Congress is the only tool that they are using. This march is not a Mann ki Baat where one person speaks. We are not here to talk but to listen to the public,” he added.
