2024 LS polls: Rahul Gandhi to embark on Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 in Sept

New Delhi: With Rahul Gandhi’s suspension as an MP being revoked, the senior Congress leader is soon expected to embark on Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0.

The attempt will be to rejuvenate the opposition and enthuse its cadre as the grand old party tries to regain lost ground ahead of crucial Assembly polls later this year and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The latest version of Yatra will not just be the grand old party’s showcase as its newly-minted INDIA alliance partners are expected to join forces. In fact, it is being touted as a game-changer for the opposition alliance.

The first leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was conducted from South to North, with Gandhi travelling from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir.

The second leg of Gandhi's Yatra will chart a course from Gujarat to Meghalaya, sources said.

It is expected that the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 is likely to commence in September, days after the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament ends.

Through the yatra, the senior leader is trying to connect with the masses and garner support for the upcoming Assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

During the first phase of the yatra, the former MP had travelled extensively across different states also spending adequate time in Karnataka, where the grand old party was able to secure a clear victory in the Assembly polls, adding a large state to the Congress’ kitty.

The delay to the second leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was caused as Gandhi’s knee had been giving him some trouble during the first phase.

The senior Congress underwent special Ayurvedic treatment in Kerala to get this knee fixed a few days back.

With Gandhi back as Lok Sabha MP, the yatra would attempt to secure public sympathy for the Nehru-Gandhi family scion.

Congress expects major changes

The Congress is also hoping that a majority of its INDIA alliance partners will join the yatra this time around. Though many of the opposition parties had offered support during the earlier yatra, it is believed that the party now hopes for a much stronger and open show of support to the grand old party.

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 moves from west to east, the route will traverse through many states where the Bharatiya Janata Party is not in power.

With Congress and its INDIA allies in power in important states like Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, the grand old party feels that Gandhi’s yatra is expected to boost the morale of the anti-saffron forces in these states and ensure that they work unitedly to defeat the BJP.

During the Yatra, the focus of the opposition would be the states in East India.

With Nitish Kumar deserting the NDA, the saffron alliance is at its weakest in this region and the BJP is now completely erased from power in eastern India.

Non-BJP parties are now in government in electorally significant Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

With West Bengal (42), Bihar (40), Odisha (21), Jharkhand (14) and Chhattisgarh (11) sending almost one-third of MPs to the lower House, the Congress-led INDIA alliance hopes to make some inroads into achieving better Lok Sabha tally from these states, sources said.

Gandhi's yatra through the region is expected to boost the opposition alliance's prospects.

A major leg of the yatra has also been planned for the Northeast, a region which has been wrested by the BJP from the Congress.

“The party hopes that through the yatra. Gandhi would be able to bring out the failures of the BJP governments regarding Manipur violence and try to regain lost ground,” sources said.

The grand old party hopes to make the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 the turning point ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as it tries to regain power across the country with the help of the INDIA alliance.