Bharat Jodo Yatra, the cross country foot march led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi covered 12 states and two Union territories. As the journey of "3,570 km over 150 days" ended with its final lap in Jammu and Kashmir, at Srinagar's Lal Chowk, here’s a look at top points from the yatra - a mass political movement to "unite the voices of the people of India, against injustice".
Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said he had fulfilled his promise to India after he unfurled the flag at Lal Chowk. He was accompanied by Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Randeep Surjewala as well as several hundreds party workers.
According to INC, the Bharat Jodo Yatra was launched to unite the country against the "divisive politics" of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government.
The yatra started in Kanyakumari on September 7 and ended on January 29 in Jammu and Kashmir.
The last day saw Rahul Gandhi unfurling the Tricolor at Lal Chowk. The place and event holds significance as 75 years ago, India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the national flag for the first time at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted a photo of the two events.
The yatra covered 12 states and two Union Territories in less than five months. The yatra traversed Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Several top political leaders walked alongside Rahul Gandhi during the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah joined the yatra during its final lap in Jammu and Kashmir.
Veteran actor and MKM chief Kamal Haasan joined 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in New Delhi. In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (Uddhav) leader Aaditya Thackeray joined Rahul Gandhi.
In September last year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader attended the launch of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Gandhi Mandapama in Kanyakumari.
Many noted personalities walked with Rahul Gandhi during the Yatra. The list included former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt, Bollywood actors Swara Bhasker, Sushant Singh, Rashmi Desai and Akanksha Puri.
Several eminent personalities lent support to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
During the Yatra, state Assembly polls were held in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. In Gujarat, the Congress was decimated. It won just 17 seats with 27 per cent of the votes, while in 2017, it won 77 seats and received 41 per cent votes.
Meanwhile, in Himachal, after a neck-to-neck battle, the Congress wrested power from the BJP, winning 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly.
The January edition of the Mood of the Nation poll looked at how the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra been perceived by the people. The survey found that 37 per cent of respondents believed that the yatra created a buzz, but would not help the Congress win elections.
The survey revealed that 29 per cent of those who were sampled perceived the Bharat Jodo Yatra to be a great exercise for mass connect, while 13 per cent viewed it as yet another 're-branding' exercise for Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, nine per cent of the respondents felt that the Bharat Jodo Yatra would make no difference for the Congress.
Throughout the yatra, the BJP and the Congress traded barbs over issues including Rahul Gandhi’s Burberry T-shit and his beard. The BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi for wearing a Burberry T-shirt allegedly worth Rs 41,000. The Congress responded with a "Rs 10 lakh suit" jibe directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Tamil Nadu, the BJP accused the Congress of being anti-Hindu over Rahul Gandhi's meeting with a controversial Christian priest.
Rahul Gandhi's full grown grey beard also became the reason for a war of words between the two parties after Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the former Congress chief had started looking like the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. This drew a rebuke from the Congress which said he sounded like a "troll".
Apart from this, the yatra was also marred by several casualties. Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary died following a cardiac arrest during the Punjab leg. A Congress Seva Dal functionary died after collapsing in Nanded in Maharashtra. Besides, a 62-year-old man from Tamil Nadu died and another person from that state was injured after being hit by a truck in Nanded when they were participating in the Congress' foot march.
(With inputs from agencies)
