Edits | January, 2023

One More Yatra…

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo yatra has quite become a sensation and a turning point for the Congress. It has been one of those yatras which seemed impossible for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. One wonders who is funding the expense of the yatra and the rhetoric around it. Definitely, he did not get a lot of good press as a lot of media is still controlled by the ruling party. Despite that, there has been some visible footage in social media generated due to the content of this yatra. Will this yatra go a long way in contesting for the 2024 elections? Is it really for the 2024 elections or is it for Rahul Gandhi to save himself as the party president and that he does matter in the Congress? The latter seems to be more of an explanation. Usually, it has been seen in India, and lately that the last six months are more crucial for any electoral shift effect rather than many months of a strategic move. Like the Pulwama blast and short war angle during the last election which got the BJP through.

Congress still remains a dying horse since most of the stalwarts of the Congress have left it and this Yatra seems to be a very young idea, joined by young people who do not have much say in the political arena or in the parliament. To say that the youngsters will be able to carry on against the experienced Shah-Modi combine will be a stretch. Judging by the Gujarat elections, its outcome and also the MCD elections in Delhi, Congress will need the old stalwarts back into the portfolio to understand how the voters react. One person’s effort or vision cannot win elections. And Yatra kind of gigs has been carried out by L.K. Advani earlier, which did translate to some dramatic outcomes but they were at a larger scale and affected polarisation.

Rahul Gandhi’s yatra did not have a caste angle, and may not have polarised votes. Usually, the yatra is needed for getting polarisation in the vote bank so as to get the winning of an election. His idea that phase 2 of the yatra should continue after the arrival in Delhi may not have more takers than the first one. Also, it is not clear what has been achieved by the yatra since Congress did not do very well during the three elections that were going on during that time, except for that of Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the government is not too keen on leaving the businessman who took loans during the Congress Raj, catching them left right and centre. This is kind of good for the economy also but at the same time, they need to check their banks on how much loan the top 4 big business houses have on their current balance sheets.

Resolutions…

There are a plethora of resolutions people take at the turn of the year. But as the new year is starting to look like another Covid year, resolutions need careful planning. The major hit will again be the middle working class who have fewer savings and incomes, which are dependent upon the companies they work for to perform well in India. The SMEs and MSMEs have taken all the heat of Covid since 2019. Hence the best resolution still is to remain safe and healthy, spend less, consolidate wealth, and look for opportunities which will grow both wealth and income, reasonably. Now is still not the time to be bullish about an open economy. War in Ukraine and Covid in China are concerning.

For kids in higher studies, focus on careers which are more promising in a Covid era and where there is a possibility for switching in the field of work, rather than being stuck with one career. Now is the time for kids and parents to realise that there is little point in sending their wards abroad for education- much of the economy has gone online and so has education. The old education set-up of the West may not be apt for the new online economy and style of living, though these concepts have been built only by the West itself. A lot of education needed now is beyond the textbook, which students and kids access all the time over various online formats. At times in a classroom packed with intelligent students, they seem more knowledgeable than the instructor, without meaning any disrespect for the teacher.

One good resolution for young people on the edge of their careers is a resolve to become multi-talented and multidisciplinary in their actions. Another good resolution could be to join some sort of political party in order to provide them with Intelligence, morals and goals other than cornering money.

Hence you may choose to make resolutions for the year 2023 but be vary and thoughtful lest the circumstances keep changing throughout the year, as the Covid-war economies evolve and analyse the way they will hit the functioning world. We have all become international citizens and what happens in one region does affect the urban spaces somehow or the other.

Wishing all our readers a Happy New Year 2023.

CA Divesh Nath

Editor
Woman’s Era
LinkedIn: Divesh Nath