NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leaders attributed the victory in Karnataka to the “success” of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“The yatra kicked off from Kanyakumari on September 7 last year and reached poll-bound Karnataka on September 30, 2022. By October 23, the yatra had covered seven districts– Chamarajanagar, Mysore, Mandya, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary and Raichur comprising 51 constituencies where the Congress has won in 36,” Vineet Punia, Congress secretary said.
The yatra passed through 75 districts in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir .
Elections in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are to be held later this year.
“Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi, united the people of Karnataka and spread the idea of peace and harmony an important factor that put our party on the path of victory,” tweeted Congress leader Siddaramaiah, a strong contender for the Chief Minister’s post.
“While this electoral victory is the direct impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, the intangible impact was uniting the party, reviving the cadre and shaping the narrative for the Karnataka elections. It was during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from the many conversations Rahul Gandhi had with the people of Karnataka, that the guarantees and promises in our manifesto were discussed and finalised”, Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary (communications) said.
During his brief interaction with the media at the AICC headquarters here. Rahul Gandhi himself also made reference to the 145-day long Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march in a roundabout way. “I am happy we contested the Karnataka polls without using hate, bad language. We fought the polls with love. In Karnataka, ‘nafrat ka bazaar (market of hate)’ has closed down’, ‘mohabbat ki dukaanein’ (shops of love) have opened”, he said.
Opening “mohabbat ki dukaan” and closing “nafrat ka bazaar” were the main tagline of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Incidentally, initially, all senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi himself used to claim that BJY had nothing to do with elections either Assembly or parliamentary.