Beyond the Yatra

Rahul may have got an image makeover but Congress gains unclear

After 134 days spent traversing 12 states, clocking nearly 4,000 km and meeting thousands of Indians in varied interactions (sitting, walking, press conferences, and so on) Rahul Gandhi ended his Bharat Jodo (Unite India) Yatra in Srinagar on Monday with a closing ceremony attended by several leaders of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outfits or their representatives. The heavy snowfall did not appear to dampen the spirits of 52-year-old Mr Gandhi. Lightly clad in just a T-shirt in solidarity with — he said — two poor and inadequately clad children he had met in Kashmir, he sought to present himself as