Ghaziabad: After marching through Delhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will start the Uttar Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Tuesday, entering the state from Ghaziabad’s Loni before walking onwards to Baghpat and other western UP districts a day after.
The yatra, which will reach in its tenth state since it began from Tamil Nadu last September, is likely to see party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and senior functionary Salman Khurshid among others as participants.
On January 3, Rahul and Congress functionaries will gather in Delhi’s Gokulpuri around 10am, and start walking to Loni on the other side of the border around noon. The entourage will cover 15km, around half of it on foot through Loni Tiraha, in the NCR city before moving to Mawi Kalan in Baghpat. District Congress functionaries said they were upbeat about the rally and, on December 13, they had organised a ‘Pradeshik Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to drum up support.
“Around 4,000 people participated in the Pradeshik yatra from Ghaziabad city to Loni. The idea was to encourage people to support the yatra and gauge Congress’s preparations,” Bijendra Yadav, the party district chief, said on Sunday.
The party had also held around 300 nukkad sabhas in Loni over the past few weeks to “create awareness and seek support for the yatra”, Yadav said.
Congress spokesperson Dolly Sharma, also the chairperson of the Mahila Yatri Management for UP, said: “I was the media in-charge of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka and I can tell you from experience that there was a groundswell of support for Congress. In UP as well, we have the backing of farmers, women, youths, artisans and the common man.”
She added: “In all likelihood, Priyanka Gandhi, Salman Khurshid and PL Punia will join Rahul Gandhi for the yatra through Ghaziabad.”
The district Congress chief said the rally is meant to highlight the “hatred and schism” created in the country over the past few years.
“It should not be seen from the prism of electoral gains, but having said that, a show of support will help galvanise votes for us,” Yadav said, referring to the upcoming civic polls in Ghaziabad.
Separately, the party, which had alleged security lapses during the Delhi leg of the yatra, has reached out to police officials in Lucknow and Meerut zone, informing them about their planned route. Ghaziabad DSP (rural) Iraj Raja said the police had set up traffic diversions between 10am and 6pm. “Details on police deployment along the yatra route are being finalised,” Raja said.
The yatra, which will reach in its tenth state since it began from Tamil Nadu last September, is likely to see party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and senior functionary Salman Khurshid among others as participants.
On January 3, Rahul and Congress functionaries will gather in Delhi’s Gokulpuri around 10am, and start walking to Loni on the other side of the border around noon. The entourage will cover 15km, around half of it on foot through Loni Tiraha, in the NCR city before moving to Mawi Kalan in Baghpat. District Congress functionaries said they were upbeat about the rally and, on December 13, they had organised a ‘Pradeshik Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to drum up support.
“Around 4,000 people participated in the Pradeshik yatra from Ghaziabad city to Loni. The idea was to encourage people to support the yatra and gauge Congress’s preparations,” Bijendra Yadav, the party district chief, said on Sunday.
The party had also held around 300 nukkad sabhas in Loni over the past few weeks to “create awareness and seek support for the yatra”, Yadav said.
Congress spokesperson Dolly Sharma, also the chairperson of the Mahila Yatri Management for UP, said: “I was the media in-charge of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka and I can tell you from experience that there was a groundswell of support for Congress. In UP as well, we have the backing of farmers, women, youths, artisans and the common man.”
She added: “In all likelihood, Priyanka Gandhi, Salman Khurshid and PL Punia will join Rahul Gandhi for the yatra through Ghaziabad.”
The district Congress chief said the rally is meant to highlight the “hatred and schism” created in the country over the past few years.
“It should not be seen from the prism of electoral gains, but having said that, a show of support will help galvanise votes for us,” Yadav said, referring to the upcoming civic polls in Ghaziabad.
Separately, the party, which had alleged security lapses during the Delhi leg of the yatra, has reached out to police officials in Lucknow and Meerut zone, informing them about their planned route. Ghaziabad DSP (rural) Iraj Raja said the police had set up traffic diversions between 10am and 6pm. “Details on police deployment along the yatra route are being finalised,” Raja said.
