Described as a semi-final before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the severe setback to the Congress in the latest round of Assembly elections, and its inability to defeat the BJP in a direct contest on the plank of social justice and welfare politics, may force the party to recalibrate its strategy.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, who is said to be working on the next edition of the Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) from east to west India, had championed the social justice plank by demanding a caste-based census and argued for a higher share for Other Backward Class (OBC) in jobs. Together with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Gandhi, in a departure from its earlier stance on the women reservation’s Bill, argued for quota within quota for OBC women.
