Nanded to be first stop in Maharashtra for Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with party MP KC Venugopal and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on the second day of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Kaniyakumari Thursday. Pic/ANI

In the Maharashtra leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi will address his first public meeting in Nanded, the fiefdom of Congress leader Ashok Chavan, who according to rumours is eyeing an entry into the BJP. Chavan has pledged loyalty to Congress and is now working on the November 7 rally's success.

Gandhi, who set off on the yatra from Kanyakumari on Wednesday, will walk 383km through Maharashtra, covering the distance in 16 days, and address 10 public meetings on his way to Madhya Pradesh. The yatra will pass through 12 states, two union territories and culminate in Jammu and Kashmir. The distance of nearly 3,500 km will be covered in approximately 150 days.

According to Ashok Chavan's spokesperson Abhijit Deshmukh, a meeting of Nanded district leaders was organised on Wednesday. "Chavan and former state Congress president Manikrao Thakare discussed the arrangements for the yatra," he said. Earlier, Chavan had dismissed talks of leaning towards BJP.

According to the yatra website, among 115 permanent travellers, nine from Maharashtra - Capt. Satyam B Thakur, Roshan Lal Bittu, Shravan Govindrao Rapanwad, Pinky Rajkumar Singh, Vaishnavi Gurudatt Bhardwaj, Nanda Mhatre, Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Mahinder Singh Vohra and Aatisha Paithankar will walk end-to-end along with Gandhi. Leftist-turned-Congressman Kanhaiya Kumar, the media and publicity committee chairman Pawan Khera and committee secretary Vaibhav Walia will also be there.

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The permanent yatris will camp in truck-mounted containers which have sleep pods and other facilities. Gandhi will have a separate container. A medical team will also accompany the entourage, along with about 60 customised containers. People from all walks of life have been invited to join the yatra at various points, and march together. Senior leaders of the Congress party will actively participate in the Yatra. Those who are unable to join will help spread its message by organising events and participating in online campaigns, says the yatra's website.

The yatra will enter Maharashtra on November 7 at Deglur from where it will move to Nanded where Gandhi will hold a meeting and also meet a cross section of society. State Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat will coordinate the Maharashtra leg. He along with state president Nana Patole will have a big challenge at hand to ensure sizeable attendance for Gandhi's public meetings.

According to sources, the state unit has set a target of one lakh audience for each rally. The yatris will have the last stop at Jalgaon Jamod before crossing over to Madhya Pradesh.

07
Day in Nov the yatra will enter Maharashtra

12
No of states it will pass through