Tamil Nadu: Rahul Gandhi to launch 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' shortly

Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 7 (ANI): Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will kick off the Bharat Jodo Yatra from the southern state of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
The Congress leader earlier visited the Vivekananda Memorial in Kanyakumari ahead of the Yatra.
On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi attended a prayer meeting at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial in Sriperumbudur. Sriperumbudur is where his father Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a bomb blast on May 21, 1991, during campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
In what is being seen as a Congress' "masterstroke" to take on the Narendra Modi government in the upcoming 2024 elections, Congress is launching the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on Wednesday in which Rahul Gandhi will start the 3,570 km journey lasting about 150 days from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
As the party begins the nationwide yatra, some pertinent questions arise about the lodging and fooding of Rahul Gandhi. However, the party has made it clear that he will not stay in any hotel but rather will complete the entire journey in a simple manner.
Rahul Gandhi will stay in the container for the next 150 days. Sleeping beds, toilets and AC are also installed in some of the containers. During the journey, the temperature and environment will differ in many areas. The arrangements have been made keeping in view the intense heat and humidity with the change of places.
"About 60 such containers have been prepared and sent to Kanyakumari where a village has been set up in which all these containers have been placed. The container will be parked in a new place every day in the shape of a village for night rest. Full-time Yatris who stay with Rahul Gandhi will eat together and stay close," said the sources.
The sources further said that Rahul Gandhi considers the Bharat Jodo Yatra journey as a way to connect with the common people.
The 148-day march will culminate in Kashmir. The five-month Yatra is scheduled to cover a distance of 3,500 kilometres and more than 12 states. The Padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.
The Yatra will include Padayatras, rallies, and public meetings which will be attended by the senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles. (ANI)