To be honest, Imphal appeared calm and quiet when the Yatra got going, but unease crept in as the kilometres stretched and a “sense of distrust and a deep divide” replaced the dominant sentiment before the Yatra passed into Imphal West and Kuki-dominated areas. The hybrid Manipur-to-Mumbai Volvo bus-foot march Yatra denies it is anchored in politics unlike the BJP’s Ram Mandir Pran Pratistha event which the Yatra alleges is rooted in politics, an allegation that rebounds off BJP skins.

Rahul Gandhi’s 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is carrying with it a beacon of hope into areas that had “become battlegrounds”. The irony is Rahul Gandhi’s 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is traversing the kilometres and miles in the “mandir season” but has refused to “use Ram” for political ends. Rahul Gandhi himself has clarified, “Manipur suffered due to BJP ideology, hatred…we’ll restore peace.”

Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by scores of Congress leaders led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The chartered aircraft which ferried them to Imphal was choc-a-bloc and seemed like it would burst in positive vibes. This was noticed about the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' also. But nobody thought ‘Nyay’ could make this big impression, and difference.

The Congress may shun any politics behind the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', but only the politically naïve will miss the political overtones of the Yatra, the “political momentum” it is thrusting ahead of it with every step of its way. The Lok Sabha elections are almost here and the Gandhi family scion is no fool – it is this time or never.

Rahul Gandhi, say Congress leaders, is spearheading a movement that aims to build a “harmonious and equitable” society by fighting the BJP’s “politics of violence, hatred and monopoly”. The first couple of hundred miles of the Yatra has already given the impression that the over-6000 kilometre Manipur-to-Mumbai 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is a worthy successor to the 3,750 kilometre 'Bharat Jodo Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Yatra'.

The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' will cut through 15 states and will pass through 100 parliamentary constituencies before it berths at Mumbai on March 21. Rahul Gandhi is holding back from making the Yatra a political slugfest, but Kharge and his aides are taking on the BJP as the Prime Minister continues to shun Manipur. That said, the Ayodhya temple Pran Pratistha is the Congress's biggest roadblock to power.

Fact is, it is time for the Congress and 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' to convince the electorate that the Yatra has a political objective as much as it pursues the social objective of unifying India in every sense of the word. With the Ram Temple in Ayodhya set to give the BJP a massive political boost, the political messaging capability of the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' must not be dumped on the wayside.

Congress President Kharge should take full political advantage of Rahul Gandhi’s 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'. The ‘Nyay’ concept of it cannot be alienated from politics. Justice is ingrained in politics and vice versa. The electoral gains from the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' must be taken full advantage of. Like suspended Bahujan Samaj Party Muslim MP Danish Ali said, Rahul Gandhi’s 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' is the “biggest drive for unity and justice”.

For the Congress and for Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, there cannot be a greater endorsement than the one coming from Danish Ali. The Congress party’s warning to the BJP not to use “Ram for votes” is misplaced. It is a warning that will go to waste. The communal polarization is so acute that such warnings are taken as weakness. How to blunt the Ram-Mandir Pran Pratistha effect is the big question. The mainstream media is massively ignoring Rahul Gandhi’s 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', the entire focus is on the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. The 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' must create controversy, become the news driver –- beat Ram to second place in the headlines game. (IPA Service)