Rahul to cut short his UP leg of 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'

Lucknow: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has decided to cut short his ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' in its Uttar Pradesh leg by five days in view of what the party leaders here said the forthcoming UP "Board examinations", which would be staring from February 22.

UP Congress president Ajay Rai said that the 'Yatra' would now enter the state on February 16 and on February 21 it would enter Madhya Pradesh after traversing through the Bundelkhand region of the state.

According to the earlier schedule, the Yatra was to enter the state on February 14 in Chandauli district near Varanasi and remain in the state till February 26 during which Rahul was scheduled to cover s many as 20 districts. "The Yatra will now skip the western region of the state," said a senior state Congress leader on Monday.

The leader said that the changes in the yatra schedule had been done owing to the "logistical constrains". "As the Board examinations are beginning from February 22, we were unable to make arrangements for the participants or hold meetings at schools and college premises and hence the yatra's duration was reduced," he added.

Incidentally the change in the schedule of the yatra came amid switching of side by Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant's Choudhary, who was all set to join the NDA.

Jayant's decision to ditch the opposition alliance prompted Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav o make an about turn on his refusal to join Rahul's Yatra. Congress leaders here said that Akhilesh could be seen with Rahul when the latter's Yara entered Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency represented by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, or Amethi, which was represented by Rahul in the LS till 2019. Rahul had lost to union minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 LS polls.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to Akhilesh requesting him to join the Yatra in its UP leg. Barely a few days back, Akhilesh had categorically rejected any possibility of joining Rahul's Yatra and even remarked that he was "never invited" by the Congress in its events.