HULIYAR (TUMAKURU DISTRICT): “Some days you walk, some days you sprint! Chasing a dream requires you to do both (sic)”, tweeted KPCC president DK Shivakumar. The tweet from the Congress heavyweight comes after he was made to run, wielding the Congress flag, for about 100 metres by none other than his party leader Rahul Gandhi during the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ at Basavanagudi Kenkere stretch near Huliyur in Tumakuru district.
It may be recalled that a few days ago, Rahul had made senior party leader Siddaramaiah run by holding his hand. Rahul’s initiative has been attracting mixed reactions from Twitterati. “This is cruel...please take care of your health Mr Shivakumar (sic)”, tweeted ‘Spare the Fundamentalist’.
“Many privileged politicians fancy cars at their disposal, would have never thought even in their wildest dreams that they would have to walk, sprint the stretch along with Rahul Gandhi”, tweeted another user Ravi. It appears Rahul wants to ensure that the rank and file of his party are in good shape and in the process he’s not sparing even the senior leaders.
Some say Rahul Gandhi wants to focus not only on the fitness of his party leaders and workers but also want to send a message that there’s no room for complacency in an election year. The former Congress president, while addressing a press conference recently, had said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is different.
‘Want to understand people’s pain’
“By going in a car or in a plane or even reaching out to people through media is easy and comfortable for most political class who are now accustomed to it. I did not want to take the easy way out. I want to directly communicate with people and understand their pain and suffering,” Rahul had said. According to political pundits, gone are the days when Congress party candidates won elections hands down in the Nehru-Indira era. They have now realised that unless they reconnect with people on the ground, revival of the grand old party would be difficult.