Congress advances 150-day Bharat Jodo Yatra, to now begin from September 7

Rich in symbolism, the Congress plans to wind up the 'continuous, non-stop' padayatra on Jan 30 next year

Congress will start its 150-day 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' (Unite India Yatra) from Kanyakumari to Kashmir covering 3,500 km across 12 states and two union territories from September 7 against the ruling BJP in a bid to consolidate “momentum” it gained in the recent times.

Rich in symbolism, the Congress plans to wind up the “continuous, non-stop” padayatra on January 30 next year, which marks the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi after covering Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders will participate in the ‘yatra’, which the party projects as a "reply to the BJP's attempts at 'Bharat Thodo' (Divide India)".

The ‘yatra’ will cover 511 km in Karnataka for 21 days while leaders will be on a padayatra in Kerala for 19 days.

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The earlier plan finalised at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir was to start the yatra on October 2. The decision to explore the possibility of rescheduling the yatra came at a meeting of General Secretaries, in-charges, heads of frontal organisations and state presidents in July. Following this, the central leadership consulted the state units about the preparedness of the state units.

The announcement came on a day the country is celebrating the 'Quit India' movement against British Rule with the Congress saying that it was on this day 80 years ago, the Congress under the leadership and inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi launched the 'Bharat Chhodo' movement that won our country freedom five years later.

"Today the Congress announces the launch of its Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra from September 7. This is a padayatra throughout 12 states and two Union Territories. It will be about 3,500 km long and will be completed in about 150 days. Congress workers and leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, will participate in the yatra," Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said.

Congress appealed to "all wanting to be part of a gigantic national endeavour to provide an alternative to the politics of fear, bigotry and prejudice and to the economics of livelihood destruction, increasing unemployment and growing inequalities" to participate in the yatra.

Congress sources said they decided to reschedule the yatra as it did not want to waste the momentum gained by the party in the recent times. With senior leader Digvijaya Singh coordinating the yatra, coordinators at state and district level have already been appointed.

"This is the largest political yatra in India's history. This is a huge experiment for Congress. This is the first time that we are organising a multi-state yatra," a senior Congress leader said.