Desperate attempt to retain Wayanad? BJP mocks 18-day Kerala leg of Rahul Gandhi's Yatra

The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi came in for criticism yet again as BJP questioned the purpose of its 18-day Kerala leg. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya contended that this move was aimed at ensuring that Gandhi retains his Wayanad seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In the last General Election, speculation was rife that Gandhi decided to contest from Wayanad as Union Minister Smriti Irani was giving him a tough fight in Amethi. While he was trounced by Irani in Amethi by a margin of 55,120 votes, he remained an MP by winning Wayanad.

According to Malviya, the ex-Congress president feared losing his Kerala seat too- a development that might put an end to his electoral career. He quipped, "The entire gravy train has been put in motion to save Rahul". Earlier, CPI(M) too slammed the Congress party over the Bharat Jodo Yatra spending 18 days in Kerala. While CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front is presently ruling in the state, the Congress-led United Democratic Front is the main opposition front. Calling it a strange way to fulfil his purported aim of fighting BJP and RSS, it sarcastically remarked that the foot march should be called 'Seat Jodo'. 

Congress seeks revival via Bharat Jodo Yatra

Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra is being touted as an endeavour to come together and strengthen the nation. It will start in Kanyakumari, covering 12 states and culminate in Jammu and Kashmir- spanning a distance of nearly 3,500 Km over the course of about 150 days. It will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu, and end in Srinagar. The Yatra was formally launched by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi at a massive rally in Kanyakumari on September 7. 

While all citizens have been invited to actively participate in this initiative either physically or by helping spread its message online, 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.