By Our Special Correspondent
Congress President Rahul Gandhi along with several party leaders started the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari on the early morning of Thursday, September 8.
It marked the beginning of a new effort by the party to reach out to voters and revive its organization. Before the start of the padayatra, Gandhi hoisted the national flag at the campsite of 'Bharat Yatrikul' - the marchers accompanying him on the 3,570 km journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Gandhiji started the Pada Yatra from Agastishwaram in Tamil Nadu along with 118 'Bharat Yatrikus' along with leaders of other parties across the country.
Gandhi started the march on Wednesday with the party's ambition not to lose his country to hatred. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of trying to divide the country on religious lines.
In a symbolic gesture to start the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin presented the national flag to Gandhi and both leaders saluted the tricolor, symbolizing the broader theme of unity.
Focused on reviving the embattled party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, party chief Sonia Gandhi described the march as a "landmark occasion" and hoped the march would help revive the grand old party.
The march will be held in two batches from 7 am to 10.30 am and from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm. While the morning session has fewer participants, the evening session sees a crowd. Participants plan to walk around 22-23 km each day.
After reaching Kerala on September 11, the Yatra will travel through the state for the next 18 days and reach Karnataka on September 30. It will stay in Karnataka for 21 days before moving north.
It passes through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysore, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, and Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot and ends at Srinagar.
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