Thiruvananthapuram/Bengaluru: After winding up its Kerala leg, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, being led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is scheduled to enter Karnataka on Friday.
Congress, the principal opposition in Karnataka, is making final preparations to welcome the yatra and garner maximum support for it.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter the state through Gundlupet town of Chamarajanagar district. Rallies have been planned in Gundlupet, Mandya, Mysuru, Chitradurga and Bellary.
The yatra will enter neighbouring Andhra Pradesh through the state's Raichur district.
Party state president D.K Shivakumar, along with other leaders, is putting in special efforts to make the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a huge success.
Shivakumar had toured all across the state and entrusted the leaders with specific responsibilities of gathering party workers and common people to walk with Rahul Gandhi.
After successfully organising Opposition leader Siddaramaiah's 75th birthday, the party is hopeful of gaining similar momentum against ruling BJP during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Shivakumar made an appeal for the people and party workers on Thursday to make the yatra a huge success.
"In 1947, the Congress united the whole country to get freedom. Similarly, after 75 years, we have taken a pledge for unity. The rally is the first step towards the change. The voice has been raised against hate politics and arbitrary rule," he stated.
"I invite people from all walks of life, including the opposition leaders and party workers to take part in the rally. Every day we are going to cover 20 kilometers," he said.
Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter the state from Tamil Nadu and will cover 511 kilometers in Karnataka. It will cover seven parliamentary constituencies and 20 assembly constituencies.
In the first phase, the rally will be held in Gundlupet, Nanjangud, Mysuru, Mandya and Melkote. Through Ranganathapura in Melukote, it will enter Chitradurga district in central Karnataka.
The rally will also enter Bellary district from Obalapur and it will enter Raichur in the second phase.
Through the Yatra, the Congress wants to galvanise support for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state in 2023. Miscreants have torn the huge flexes of Congress leaders installed on the roadsides on the Ooty, Gundlupet Road.
Congress has slammed ruling BJP and ruling party has quipped that it will never indulge in such lowly acts. The heat has turned on and political experts say that during the yatra, high political drama is likely to take place.
Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered Kerala on September 11, on Thursday exited the state from Malappuram district. The Yatra will resume its second session for the day in Tamil Nadu.
From the day it entered Kerala from Tamil Nadu border, it was a festival for the Congress party workers and its supporters, as was seen throughout when the confusion to elect a new president continues unabated, even when the last day of nomination ends on Friday.
The Yatra in Kerala covered 43 of the 140 assembly and 12 out of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies and covered 453 kms in 19 days, which includes two days of break.
The participation in the Yatra saw about 5,000 people in the morning session and the crowd swelled to 25,000 in the evening session with participation leaders from all the rungs. The party appears to have got the much needed boost.
The Yatra also had its low when there were incidents of pick-pocketing reported on two days, the news of Goa Congress legislators' crossing over to BJP and not to mention the daily developments in Delhi over the confusion in the party over its new president.
The greatest highlight of the event is that the Congress leaders in Kerala, who are known for their factional feuds, stood in solidarity with the party and kept aside their differences.
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