When Rath Yatras became the cornerstone in Indian politics!

Jaipur: The Central Government recently took out Rath Yatras led by IAS officers at different places across the country to publicise the achievements of the last nine years of the Modi government, after which the Opposition parties created a lot of noise.

The journey of Rath Yatras in the country’s politics is very old, and the wheels of many yatras have changed the politics of the country and states. The concept of Rath Yatra in the country’s politics was started by veteran South Indian leader and actor NT Rama Rao. After this, the travels of BJP leader LK Advani shook the opposition parties including Congress. The most talked about journey in the history of the country is considered to be Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March during the independence movement. On March 12, 1930, he marched on foot from his Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Gujarat in protest against the imposition of a tax on salt by the British government. After 26 days, on April 6, 1930, the march reached Dandi, where Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law.

NTR’s Chaitanya Ratham Yatra in 1982
In the year 1982, NT Rama Rao organised the Chaitanya Rath Yatra in Andhra Pradesh. This 75,000-kilometre journey set a Guinness World Record, circling the state’s four corners. On March 29, 1982, NTR formed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over Telugu pride and started India’s first political Rath Yatra. A van was converted into a chariot for the journey. NTR stopped at 100 locations each day, garnering immense popularity with people eagerly awaiting his arrival, even performing aarti for him. Following the yatra, in the Assembly elections, TDP secured 199 out of 294 seats, making NTR the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

1990: Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra
In the year 1990, the BJP intensified the Ram Mandir construction movement and announced a Rath Yatra till Ayodhya while touring the entire country. Lal Krishna Advani became the charioteer of this journey and his Rath Yatra commenced from the famous pilgrimage site Somnath in Gujarat on September 25 and reached Bihar passing through hundreds of cities and villages. The then Bihar CM Lalu Prasad stopped the Rath Yatra in Samastipur and arrested Advani. This Yatra gave the BJP a new identity as a national party and increased its popularity among the public. It is said that from here the political journey of BJP took a turn and entered a new phase. A large number of kar sevaks reached Ayodhya in the Ram Mandir movement amid the Rath Yatra. In the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, BJP got 120 seats, which was 35 more than the previous elections.

2004: YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s march
Veteran Congress leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy started a 1,500 km walk from Chevella in Andhra Pradesh in 2004 covering 11 districts. The public considered Rajshekhar as the Messiah and people flocked to meet him. The 10-year-long TDP rule ended with Congress winning 185 out of 294 seats in the assembly elections and YS Rajasekhara Reddy became the Chief Minister.

2017 Jaganmohan Reddy’s Praja Sankalp Yatra
This yatra, undertaken in Andhra Pradesh in the year 2017, took young Jaganmohan Reddy to the post of Chief Minister. After the death of YS Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash in 2009, Congress refused to make his son Jaganmohan Reddy the Chief Minister. After this Jagmohan formed the YSR Congress Party. Like his father, he took out a padyatra which became the driving force of his political career. On November 6, 2017, he started his padyatra from Cuddapah district which covered a distance of 3,648 km through 125 assembly constituencies of 13 districts and reached Srikakulam in 430 days. After the Rath Yatra, in the assembly elections held in 2019, the YSR Congress won 152 out of 175 seats and Jaganmohan became the CM.

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, covered a distance of 3,500 kilometres in 12 states. This was seen as the Congress party’s attempt to reestablish itself and prepare ground for public support before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

BJP took out Parivartan Yatra in the states
BJP had taken out a political yatra in the name of Parivartan Yatra in the assembly elections of five states in 2003. These yatras, led by Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and Uma Bharti in Madhya Pradesh, had uprooted the Congress governments.