Shiv Sena, NCP to join Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 17 (ANI): Shiv Sena Chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar have accepted the invitation to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said a Congress leader on Monday.
A delegation of state Congress leaders on Monday met former CM Uddhav Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' and Sharad Pawar at Silver Oak and invited them for the yatra.
Congress leaders including HK Patil, Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Naseem Khan, Bhai Jagtap, and youth leader Suraj Thakur were present in the meeting.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra started by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will enter Maharashtra from the Nanded district in the first week of November and the Congress delegation invited both leaders to participate in the yatra.
"Both have accepted the invitation and the delegation was told that Sharad Pawar himself and Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray or Aaditya Thackeray would be involved in the yatra," the Congress official said in a statement.
Bharat Jodo Yatra is getting support from various political parties and social organizations across the country and the response is increasing day by day. In Maharashtra too, the NCP and Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) have agreed to participate in the yatra, adding to its importance. The Bharat Jodo Yatra reached a milestone on Saturday covering 1000 kilometres after starting from Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent launched on 7 September 2022.
The 3500 kilometres yatra will be a historic event for the Congress and the entire country. It is the longest march on foot by any Indian politician in the history of India, the Congress said earlier in a statement.
Notably, Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi march was the longest march by foot (389 kilometres in 24 days) between Sabarmati ashram to Dandi (Navasari) in Gujarat state.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra will reach this milestone (1000 kilometres) when it reaches the outskirts of Ballari district, where a massive convention will happen with lakhs of Congress supporters, the party said in its release. (ANI)