Day after seat-sharing talks, Akhilesh agrees to join Rahul yatra in Agra on Sunday

Congress leaders led by state president Ajay Rai and veteran leader PL Punia, in-charge of the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in UP, on Thursday visited the SP office in the state capital to hand over an invite by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge to Akhilesh Yadav to join the yatra and address a public meeting in Agra.

Samajwadi Party national secretary Rajendra Chaudhury said, “I received the letter as Mr Akhilesh Yadav is not in Lucknow. He (Yadav) asked me to receive the letter and inform the Congress leaders that he will join the yatra in Agra at 2 pm on February 25.”

Ajay Rai said, “We went to the Samajwadi Party office to hand over an invite by our national president to the SP chief. There we met senior SP leader Rajendra Chaudhary who assured us that Akhilesh ji will join the yatra in Agra on Sunday.”

The Congress leaders said All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who could not participate in the yatra in eastern Uttar Pradesh, would be joining its second phase in the state from Saturday in Moradabad.

Earlier, Akhilesh, who had assured to join the yatra either in Amethi or Raebareli, had backed out saying he would only join the procession after the seat-sharing talks are finalised.

Sources in the Congress said Priyanka played a crucial role in finalising the seat-sharing talks with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. Despite her plans to join the yatra from Chandauli district soon after it entered Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka could not be part of it due to “ill health”.

In his invitation letter to Akhilesh, Kharge said Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ which started from Manipur on January 14 “is moving ahead successfully towards its destination”.

The purpose of the yatra is to become “the voice of those suffering due to social, economic and political injustices” perpetrated allegedly by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress leader wrote.

“It is requested that you personally reach Agra on February 25 at this historic moment and also address a public meeting… We thank you for your support to confront and defeat the fascist forces,” he added.

His participation in the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will help make the INDIA alliance become “more powerful and successful”, Kharge claimed.

According to the schedule, the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ will resume from Moradabad on Saturday. Then the yatra will cover Sambhal and Aligarh districts before reaching Agra on Sunday. Thereafter, it will enter Rajasthan from Dhaulpur district on Sunday evening.

Then yatra will take a break from February 26 to March 1 as Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Cambridge University, UK, on February 27 and 28 to deliver a lecture.

The yatra will resume from Dhaulpur on March 2, it is learnt.