After Bharat Jodo Yatra, a Congress east-to-west journey next

The Congress is now contemplating an east-to-west yatra, weeks after the Bharat Jodo Yatra was successfully concluded, according to party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh. One of the biggest padayatras was the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which went from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. According to reports, the east-to-west yatra will travel from Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, to Porbandar, Gujarat.

Rahul Gandhi began the yatra in Kanyakumari on September 7 and it ended in Kashmir on January 30. It travelled over 4,000 km, passing through 13 states and one union territory. After Gandhi and numerous Congress members travelled nearly 4,000 kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Ramesh claimed that party members were eager and motivated to embark on another yatra.

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According to him, it might not have the extensive infrastructure that was assembled for the Bharat Jodo Yatra and might have fewer yatris. The majority of the journey, he claimed, would be padayatra, but there are waterways and forests along the way. It would be a multimodal yatra, but primarily a padayatra, according to Ramesh.

He said that with elections in Karnataka in April, rains from June and again state polls in November, the yatra may have to be undertaken before June or before November. Ramesh also added that the yatra would be of a shorter duration than the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He said all this will be decided in the next few weeks.

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Congress made a remarkable effort to demonstrate that it is still capable of a long-term public outreach campaign locally. The march was primarily seen as an effort by Congress to boost its political prospects before the general election of 2024.

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(With PTI inputs)