Congress renames Rahul yatra 2.0, finalises route: 15 states and 100 LS seats in over 2 months

“Everyone is invited to the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The parties of the INDIA alliance, parties allied with the Congress in different states, and civil society organisations are invited to participate in the yatra,” said Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh, adding that the logo and theme song would be released in the coming days.

The route of the bharat jodo nyay yatra, which will begin January 14.

Explaining why the yatra name was tweaked, Ramesh said, “The idea of justice is the idea of the yatra. We had a Bharat Jodo Yatra for 140 days, it proved to be a transformative movement in Indian politics, everybody was of the unanimous view that we should combine the two and that is why the yatra is now called Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.”

He added, “Everyone said that that we should strengthen the alliance and there should be no shortcoming from the Congress’s side in strengthening the alliance.”

The party will spend the most days, 11, in Uttar Pradesh. Among the high-profile Lok Sabha constituencies, it will pass through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat Varanasi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli, and Rahul’s former seat Amethi that is currently represented by Union Minister Smriti Irani. In total, the party will cover 1,074 km in 20 districts of UP. Unlike the Bharat Jodo Yatra, there will not be a permanent group of Congress workers and leaders marching with Rahul and there will be fewer container vans for the yatris to spend the night in. The yatris will walk 8-9 km every day and about 80 km will be covered by bus. Rahul is also scheduled to deliver two speeches each day.

“By working day and night, we will be able to provide an alternative government in the Lok Sabha elections. Where we are weak, people and seats with a certain support base should be identified,” Kharge said at the meeting. The Congress chief emphasised leadership development in seats dominated by Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and minorities and asked leaders to ensure that the names of eligible SC, ST, OBC, and minority voters are not deleted from electoral rolls. He said migrant voters would have to be mobilised so that they return home to cast their vote.

Kharge said the BJP was raising “emotive issues” to cover up for the failures of its government in the last 10 years. “They deliberately involve the Congress in every issue,” Kharge said, urging his colleagues to “expose the BJP’s falsehoods and propaganda”. The Congress president asked leaders to forget their differences and abstain from making remarks about each other or talking with the media about internal matters.

Kharge made a special mention of Sonia’s tenure as Congress president and said that in the Congress session in Bengaluru in March 2001 the party had taken a resolution to remove the NDA from power. “In 2004, under the leadership of Sonia ji, work was done wholeheartedly and continuously in every state. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) defeated the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and our government remained in power for 10 years. At the time, our workers from every village and city stood up. Today, the time has come to work with the same dedication to take the party forward,” said the Congress president.

The yatra route:

Manipur (1 day): The yatra will travel 107 km in four districts, passing through two Lok Sabha and 11 Assembly seats.

Nagaland (2 days): The yatra will cover 257 km, passing through five districts.

Assam (8 days): It will travel 833 km in 17 districts.

Arunachal Pradesh (1 day): 55 km will be covered in one district.

Meghalaya (1 day): The route has been shortened here and the march will cover 5 km in a district.

West Bengal (5 days): The party will travel 523 km in seven districts.

Jharkhand (8 days): The yatra will travel 804 km and cover 13 districts.

Odisha (4 days): The yatra will cover 341 km in four districts.

Chhattisgarh (5 days): The party will cover 536 km in seven districts.

Bihar (4 days): The yatra will pass through seven districts and cover 425 km.

Uttar Pradesh (11 days): The party will cover 1,074 km in 20 districts.

Madhya Pradesh (7 days): The yatra will pass through nine districts, covering 698 km.

Rajasthan (1 day): The yatra will cover 128 km in two districts.

Gujarat (5 days): The yatra will travel 445 km in seven districts.

Maharashtra (5 days): The yatra will conclude in Mumbai on March 20 after travelling 480 km across six districts.