Asia | India’s opposition

Relaunching Rahul Gandhi, again

Do Indians still want the Congress party’s secular politics?

JAMMU, INDIA - JANUARY 22: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with supporters during the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra in district Samba, on January 22, 2023 in Jammu, India. Rahul Gandhi walked into Jammu and Kashmir, the final phase of his Bharat Jodo Yatra that started in Kanyakumari in September and will end on January 30 in Srinagar. (Photo by Waseem Andrabi/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) — Image: Getty Images

Jan 26th 2023|GANUSPUR, PUNJAB to INDORA, HIMACHAL PRADESH

Walk through the Indian countryside alongside Rahul Gandhi for a while and it is possible to imagine you are witnessing the rebirth of a political movement. Traversing the northern state of Himachal Pradesh one wintry day last week the leader of Congress, India’s main opposition party, was heralded in every town and village. Scores of people jostled for space behind windows and on rooftops, brandishing phones and occasionally tablets to record a glimpse of him. Sporting a white T-shirt and bushy beard, Mr Gandhi trudged inside a rectangular security cordon formed by police wearing tracksuits and carrying a yellow rope. Every few minutes the caravan stopped and security guards hustled bystanders inside the cordon for a photo-op and brief chat.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Relaunching Rahul Gandhi, again”