New Delhi: The Congress is planning to launch Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 in September in order to maximize impact in the four poll-bound states as well as the 2024 national elections.
According to party insiders, the Bharat Jodo yatra national coordination committee headed by veteran Digvijay Singh discussed Rahul’s nationwide yatra 2.0 with a select group of leaders last week. Though there is a general consensus within the party on starting the yatra part 2, two key aspects related to the launch date and the route are still being discussed among the leaders.
“We all would want the yatra to happen but the high command has to take a final call in the matter,” AICC secretary in charge of organisation Vamshi Chand Reddy told ETV Bharat. The party insiders said that the coordination panel discussed whether the former party chief should cover the full west to east India stretch as he did in the initial south to north yatra or keep the foot march targeted.
“If the yatra is full scale, it would consume six months. The time factor is crucial as we are preparing both for the five assembly polls likely in November as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Last year, we had a lot of time on our hands as there were only two assembly polls Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh which were not on the yatra route,” a senior AICC functionary said.
He further said that instead of a full scale yatra, small targeted yatras in states would be a more practical option which would take care of the time factor.
“The state yatras can be planned along the local areas and would cover the parliamentary seats that we intend to target. Since the coming assembly polls would be likely in November, we can plan yatras in these states also to maximize impact and peak our campaigns during September and October,” said the AICC functionary.
The initial Bharat Jodo Yatra was launched from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, 2022 and ended in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on January 30, 2023. The yatra part 2 is being planned from Porbandar in Gujarat to Agartala in Tripura to cover the west to east India stretch.
“Rahulji had prayed at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial in Ahmedabad on Sep 5 before launching his yatra from Kanyakumari. As Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi, we would be very happy if he launches his second yatra from Porbandar, the birthplace of the Mahatma,” Gujarat CLP leader Amit Chavda told ETV Bharat.
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“The south to north yatra was a huge success and showed that Rahulji is the only national leader who can challenge PM Modi in 2024. The yatra also strengthened the cause of the opposition,” he said.
According to party insiders, another important issue to be decided is the launch date of the yatra part 2.
“While some people want the yatra to start on Independence Day August 15 to send out a nationwide message, the rains in the next month will have to be factored. While August would allow us to complete the yatra early, September would be more practical because of weather conditions,” said the AICC functionary.
