Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul's first serious political outing

Bengaluru: The Bharat Jodo Yatra - the first-ever nationwide event of the Congress party after the Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 has been depicted as a path-breaking event not just for the Congress party but also for its icon Rahul Gandhi. The party unit in Karnataka is fully geared up to join the Yatra which will traverse through 12 districts from South to North of Karnataka before entering Maharashtra.

The Yatra will enter Karnataka in Gundlupet by September 29/30 and will be in Karnataka for 21 days and will cover a distance of 511 kilometres. The political pundits in the Congress party feel that this event will be a landmark event for the party and the country as one of the oldest parties in the world will embark upon a journey to put together the jigsaw puzzle that is India. "The country is undergoing a challenge of being divided and this is not the march of Congress party but is the march of India for unity amid diversity," Siddaramiah told.

Looking at the point of view of Rahul Gandhi, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will be his first serious political outing. Apart from holding election meetings and organising party events Rahul's this sojourn will throw open new horizons for the party and it will be a statement in the unity of the country. He has been unduly ridiculed by the social media cell of the BJP, but the Yatra as it has been promoted could be one event that might put the Congress party back on track.

The managers of the event felt that it was one of the longest marches taken up by any party or any organisation in India so far. BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani's Rath Yatras cannot be compared to this, as Advani travelled on vehicles and with one agenda -growth of Hindutva. But Rahul Gandhi will walk from Kanyakumari at 25 kilometres per day. "It shows commitment, character and strength of leadership" Rajya Sabha MP BK Hariprasad said. What is more characteristic about Bharat Jodo Yatra is that it is not just for Congress party workers or leaders, anybody can join the Yatra route in Karnataka or in other states "Yes it is organised by the Congress party but represents the entire 130 crore people of India who want to live in harmony" DK Shivakumar State Congress president said.