Why Rahul Gandhi’s Gurgaon visit could bring faction-ridden Haryana Congress to Brijendra Singh’s Sadbhav Yatra

“I heard that Rahul ji is coming. I will definitely be there if he’s there. So far, I do not have the exact programme details…,” Haryana Congress Legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said.

Apart from Hooda, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Rao Narender Singh, Lok Sabha MPs Kumari Selja, Deepender Hooda, Jai Prakash, Varun Chaudhry, and Satpal Brahmchari are likely to join the yatra.

Brijendra, a former Hisar MP, has been leading the statewide Sadbhav Yatra across Haryana as part of a mass outreach campaign focused on social harmony, farmers’ concerns, unemployment, and strengthening the Congress organisation at the grassroots level. Launched in October 2025, the yatra has crossed several parts of Haryana, emerging as one of the Congress’s most visible political campaigns in the state after the 2024 elections.

So far, Brijendra’s father and former Union minister Birender Singh, Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala, Kaithal MLA Aditya Surjewala, former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, former MLA Shamsher Singh Gogi, and various other MLAs and Congress leaders have participated in Brijendra’s rally.

“The factions within Haryana Congress cannot be bridged by one Rahul Gandhi visit. Of course, all state leaders will obviously be there [in Gurgaon], but it will be more due to Gandhi than to support the yatra. It will surely have an impact on the May 10 civic body polls,” a Congress leader said.

A march for ‘bhaichara’

The ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ began on October 5, 2025, from Danoda village in Jind district’s Narwana constituency. At the launch, Brijendra announced that the march would cover all 90 Assembly constituencies in the state over several months, traversing nearly 2,600 km on foot. The campaign was conceptualised around the message of restoring “bhaichara (brotherhood)” and addressing concerns related to agriculture, unemployment, governance and social divisions.

The first phase was concentrated in central and western Haryana. Beginning from Narwana in Jind district, the march travelled through Jind, Safidon, Julana, Uchana, Kalayat and Narnaund before entering Hisar. During this leg, Brijendra focused on farmers’ issues, unemployment and reconnecting with Congress workers at the village level.

In November, the campaign expanded into southern Haryana, moving through Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mahendragarh and Rewari districts. Concerns over rural infrastructure, youth migration and economic distress among farmers and labourers were raised.

By December, the foot march entered the Mewat and National Capital Region belt, with issues related to communal harmony, civic infrastructure and urban-rural disparities being highlighted.

The next phase focused on northern Haryana districts, with a focus on unemployment, law and order, education, and social polarisation.

As the campaign entered the agrarian belt of western Haryana, Brijendra intensified criticism of the BJP government over crop procurement delays, compensation issues, and the condition of farmers facing repeated weather-related losses.

In its concluding phase, the yatra shifted towards the industrial and politically significant belt of Haryana. By the end of April, the yatra had crossed more than 2,000 kilometres and covered over 80 Assembly constituencies across the state.