Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with scores of 'yatris', embarked upon a 3,570-km Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kanyakumari on Thursday. The padayatra, which is expected to be completed in 150 days, is being seen as an effort by the grand old party, that is struggling to get on its feet after a series of electoral defeats, to reconnect with the masses.
The Kanyakumari to Kashmir Yatra began at 7 am on Thursday, and Rahul was joined on the inaugural stretch of the padayatra by senior leaders, members of the Congress Working Committee and Members of Parliament and around 300 yatris that include 118 Bharat Yatris who will accompany him through the entire course of the march.
Around 13 kilometres were covered in the morning shift of the first day, which was from 7am up to 10 am before the troupe halted for a break. The walk today featured a coconut water pit stop and impromptu asides involving brief conversations with the people. The father and brother of Dalit girl S. Anitha, who had filed a case against NEET and had died by suicide, met with Rahul during the yatra and walked with him for some distance.
During the break before the march resumed at around 4 pm, Rahul had three interactions with civil society representatives. He met women activists, Dalit groups and environmentalists during the mid-day break prior to the yatra resuming for the latter half of the march. Congress leaders said the same routine would be followed every day.
According to Congress leaders, while the first shift of the walk every day will involve meetings with the public and with delegations representing different sections of the society, the second half that will be from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm will have mass mobilisation by the local Congress unit. On an average, the yatris are expected to cover around 25 km.
The yatra, after completing three days in Tamil Nadu, is scheduled to enter Thiruvananthapuram on September 10. The march is expected to take around 19 days to cover the route through Kerala. It is expected to enter Karnataka on October 1. On October 2, the yatris will take a break from the march to participate in events associated with Gandhi Jayanti. On October 5, the walking contingent is expected to be in Mysuru, and the march will be paused for them to participate in the famous Mysuru Dusshera. On October 17, if an election is necessitated for the post of Congress president, the yatris who are part of the electoral college will be able to cast their vote in the state Congress office in Bengaluru.