Yatra continues till hatred is eradicated; India is united: Rahul Gandhi on Bharat Jodo anniversary

On the first anniversary of the launch of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the yatra will continue till hatred is eradicated and India is united.

Gandhi also shared a video montage on X of his over 4,000 km Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra that was launched on this day last year.

In a post in Hindi, Gandhi said, "The crores of steps of Bharat Jodo Yatra towards unity and love have become the foundation of a better tomorrow for the country."

"The journey continues - till hatred is eradicated, till India unites. This is my promise!" the former Congress chief said.

During the course of the yatra, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, more than 100 street corner meetings and 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

Several experts had said a big takeaway from the yatra for the Congress had been Gandhi's image transformation -- from a reluctant and part-time politician to one who is mature and taken seriously by opponents.

With over 4,000 kilometres under his belt, Gandhi had managed to catch the attention of his supporters as well as detractors. The march saw participation from a cross-section of society, including film and TV celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar.

Besides, writers and military veterans, including former Army chief Gen (Retd) Deepak Kapoor and ex-Navy chief Admiral (Retd) L Ramdas, and noted people such as former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-finance secretary Arvind Mayaram had also participated in the yatra.

Opposition leaders such as National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena's Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut and NCP's Supriya Sule, had also walked alongside Gandhi at various points in time during the march.