NCP washes hands off Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'? Ajit Pawar makes big statement on UPA

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Monday commented on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' being organised by the Congress and said it was the party's solo endeavour and not that of the United Progressive Alliance.

"Congress started Bharat Jodo Yatra, they started on their own. It's not the UPA's Bharat Jodo Yatra and they won't ask us about it," said Pawar when asked if Opposition parties supported the 150-day long walkathon led by Rahul Gandhi.

The former Maharashtra minister however did not comment on whether the Bharat Jodo Yatra would have an impact on the 2024 General elections. Efforts are being made by various Opposition parties and their leaders to put up a united fight against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

Notably, NCP leader Praful Patel recently clarified that party supremo Sharad Pawar will not be the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Opposition in the 2024 elections.

When asked about any differences with Congress, the NCP general secretary said, "There is no reason for any dissociation with Congress. We have been a part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Parties with similar ideologies should come together."

Congress launches Bharat Jodo Yatra

In the run-up to the mega polls, Congress has launched the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', which is being touted as an endeavour to unite and strengthen the nation. 

Led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the yatra will traverse through 12 states and two Union territories, covering a distance of 3,570 km from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Jammu and Kashmir. Over the period of 150 days, there will be mega rallies in 22 major cities.

While all citizens have been invited to actively participate in this initiative, a total of 118 Congress leaders will walk the entire route along with Gandhi. The participants are likely to walk 22-23 km daily with the march moving in two batches from 7 am to 10:30 am and from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

Meanwhile, Congress' communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh revealed that the party will organise similar yatras on a smaller scale, i.e of 50 km or 100 km in each state.