The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Rajasthan on Sunday with hundreds of Congressmen led by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who began their journey forward on Monday morning. Gandhi was accompanied by state chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
On Sunday, Gehlot and his former deputy Pilot were seen hand-in-hand dancing with other senior leaders in Rajasthan and presented a united face, despite their differences and an ongoing tug of war for the CM’s post.
Sachin Pilot on Sunday urged everyone to join the “historic” march.
Unbothered by cold winds, Gandhi was dressed in a t-shirt, trousers and sports shoes, while the other leaders and workers wore jackets as the final leg of the yatra began at 6.15am from Kali Talai in Jhalrapatan, a rural area on the border of Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh.
During the ongoing march, Rahul Gandhi interacted with the children who walked with him. Gandhi also interacted with locals and waved at large crowds gathered to witness the yatra. Gandhi later sipped morning tea at a dhaba while on the move.
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After covering 14 km, the yatra reached Baliborda chauraha at around 10 am. After the lunch break, the yatra resumed from Nahardi at 3.30 pm.
During the yatra, former MP Raghuveer Meena felt uneasiness and was promptly taken to the district hospital in Jhalawar in an ambulance.
Gehlot, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, senior leader Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, food and civil supplies minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, and several MLAs accompanied Gandhi.
After the yatra commenced, the Congress party in Hindi wrote on Twitter that the pace should not slow down, Congress should deliver something amazing in Rajasthan. “Bharat Jodo Yatra has saluted the soil of bravery. Rajasthan will create history once again,” the party tweeted.
Dotasra tweeted, “The caravan of Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi to tie India in the thread of love, harmony and unity, has now set out to create history in Rajasthan.”
Gehlot and Pilot also shared pictures on Twitter. “The Yatra has started with the resolve to fulfil the hopes and expectations of the youth,” Pilot wrote on Twitter.
The yatra will cover a distance of about 500 km in Rajasthan passing through Jhalawar, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa and Alwar districts over 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra — a 3,500 km march from Kanyakumari to Srinagar on foot, led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi — is set to conclude on Republic Day 2023.
After the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party plans to do a “Hath se Hath Jodo” foot march next under Gandhi’s leadership from January 26. It will expand connections with the youth, the party has underlined.