I.N.D.I.A. 'janbandhan' locked and loaded: Congress after Akhilesh joins Rahul during Nyay Yatra

New Delhi: The I.N.D.I.A. 'janbandhan' is locked and loaded, ready to dispel the 'darkness of the anyay kaal', the Congress said on Sunday after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Agra.

The coming together of Gandhi and Yadav put days of uncertainty on the latter's participation in the yatra to an end and came as a boost to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.), which has sealed key seat-sharing deals of late.

The AAP and the Congress on Saturday sealed a seat-sharing deal for Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana but decided to contest separately in Punjab, considering the 'special circumstances' in the state.

With this, the Congress finalised its seat adjustments for 125 constituencies with I.N.D.I.A. bloc constituents, after recently striking an arrangement with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

However, challenges still remain as the I.N.D.I.A. bloc has to work out seat-sharing deals in the key states of West Bengal and Maharashtra.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Massive, enthusiastic, and energised crowds gathered in Agra to welcome Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Akhileh Yadav. The leaders garlanded the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar before taking out a historic roadshow through the heart of Agra." "The I.N.D.I.A. janbandhan is locked and loaded, ready to dispel the darkness of the anyay kaal," Ramesh said.

Congress and Samajwadi Party workers raised slogans in support of Yadav and Gandhi as the two leaders, accompanied by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, waved at the crowd gathered for the yatra.

Attacking the government in his address on the occasion, Yadav said, "Today, farmers are standing against the government. The government is scared of the power of farmers. In the coming time, the BJP will be removed and the I.N.D.I.A. coalition government will give respect to farmers."