As the Congress’ 3,570 km Bharat Jodo Yatra completed 35 days and covered a distance of over 636 km by foot, the party is planning a mega rally in Karnataka’s Bellary district on October 15.
“On October 15, a massive rally will be organised in the Bellary district of the state,” a source in the party said. The assembly polls in Karnataka, where the grand old party is in opposition, are scheduled for next year.
The Congress feels that the yatra has got a tremendous response in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. However, the party feels that the yatra will not get much response in Andhra Pradesh, where it will enter later this month for three days and four nights.
A Congress source, who has been part of the yatra, said that the yatra has got a very good response in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where the party has got a strong organisation. The yatra covered 66 km in Tamil Nadu and 355 km in Kerala.
The source said that the party had gotten beyond expectations of support in Karnataka, where it is in opposition. He said that the people are coming on their own to witness the yatra in their districts without even giving them a call to join.
Many people, including the elderly, mothers, and sisters, along with their kids, are joining the yatra to participate in it. The people start joining the yatra at around 6 in the morning.
The yatra, led by former party president Rahul Gandhi, entered Karnataka on September 30. Congress interim president and Rahul Gandhi’s mother Sonia Gandhi also joined the yatra on October 6 in Mandya district.
The source said Rahul Gandhi has not taken a day off since the day the yatra started. During his yatra, Rahul Gandhi made former chief minister Siddaramaiah jog and also made Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar run for a while.
The source said that Rahul Gandhi in the last 35 days had met over 550 people during the day break, which included groups of environmentalists, farmers, people from the fishing community, youths, students and several others.
The source said that the yatra will take a break on October 24 and 25 on the occasion of the Deepawali festival. The source said that the yatra will also halt on October 17 as 41 Bharat Yatris, including Rahul Gandhi, have to vote in the Congress presidential elections. The state yatris will go back to Bengaluru to cast their votes.
The Congress Central Election Authority (CEA) has issued postal ballots for the Bharat Yatris so that they can vote in the party’s presidential election, which is taking place after a gap of 21 years.
The source further said that Malllikarjun Kharge, who is running as a candidate in the Congress presidential election, will not participate in the yatra till October 19, the day on which the counting of votes will take place. He will join the yatra on October 20 in his home state after the results are declared.
The party source further said that when the yatra enters Maharashtra next month, it will be welcomed by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
The yatra started on September 7 from Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari. The party plans to cover the distance of 3,570 km mostly on foot in 150 days. The yatra will culminate in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar.