Congress to launch 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on September 6

Congress will launch its ambitious 3,570 km Kanyakumari to Kashmir ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on Wednesday with a promise and hope to rejuvenate the crisis-hit party to take on the ruling RSS-BJP and under the shadow of an organisational election to find a new chief, possibly a non-Gandhi.

The padayatra’s start from Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the country, will also be sending a political signal with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin launching the ‘padayatra’ by handing over a khadi tricolour to Rahul, at a time a section in the Opposition is questioning the Congress’ pole position in the grouping.

From the Gandhi Mandapam, Rahul and other Congress leaders will walk to the venue of a public rally. Before reaching Kanyakumari, Rahul will take part in a prayer meeting at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's memorial in Sriperumbudur. He will also visit Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar Statue and Kamaraj Memorial in Kanyakumari.

Read | 3,500 km,12 states & 2 UTs: Congress' massive march against BJP

The yatra covering 12 states and two union territories will see Rahul Gandhi at the lead though the party has not officially announced him so, as the former party chief wants it to be a Congress yatra rather than a ‘Rahul yatra’.

During the course of the yatra, Congress will also elect a new president by October 19 and there will be immense pressure on Rahul, who has made it clear that he does not intend to return to the party’s helm and prefers a non-Gandhi family leader as president, to reverse his decision from the party workers.

While Rahul appears to have made up his mind not to steer the party in an official capacity, his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi has urged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to lead the party. The first few weeks of the yatra would see heightened activity in the party as the last date of nomination will be September 30 and last day for withdrawal is October 8 while the polling, if necessary, will be on October 17 and counting two days later.

Read | Why Stalin's presence at Bharat Jodo Yatra matters for DMK

Concluding on the 150th day of the yatra – on January 30, the day of Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom – if not stretched by a week or two due to unforeseen reasons, the yatra with a tagline 'Mile Kadam, Jude Watan' will see 117 party leaders and workers walking the whole stretch while others join them in parts. The party is also seeking to take on the saffron party’s nationalism plank by making the national flag the “main symbol of the yatra”.

"Bharat Jodo Yatra, in no way in any form, is a Mann Ki Baat. It is about the concern for people. Its objective is to ensure that the concerns and demands expressed by the people reach Delhi," Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh has said.

During the yatra, the party has identified at least 22 cities and towns where they will have big functions, including in Kochi, Thrissur, Nilambur (Kerala), Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur (Karnataka), Nanded (Maharashtra), Indore, Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), Kota, Dausa, Alwar (Rajasthan), Delhi, Ambala (Haryana), Pathankot (Punjab), Jammu and Srinagar.

Read | 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is no 'Mann Ki Baat': Congress

The Congress is organising marches from states not on the route that will join the main ‘yatra’ with participants carrying soil and water from their place and planting trees as they join the yatra. Programmes titled ‘Bharat ke Ratan’ (meeting with local champions) are also being planned.

Parallel ‘Samvidhan Bachao Yatras’ (Save Constitution Yatras) are also being planned across the country that will join the Bharat Jodo Yatra as it enters each state and a copy of the Constitution will be handed over. The party is also planning marches in states outside the yatra route.