Congress launches Delhi Nyay Yatra with eye on Assembly polls

With an eye on the February 2025 Assembly election in the national capital, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav announced on Monday that a 'Delhi Nyay Yatra' will be organised next month, modelled on Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. The aim is to engage with the city's residents and understand their issues and concerns.

The march is set to commence on 8 November from Mahatma Gandhi's memorial in Rajghat and conclude on 4 December. At the launch event for the yatra at the Constitution Club, Yadav outlined that the initiative would unfold in four phases.

“During the yatra, we will interact with the people of Delhi to learn about the issues and problems they have been facing for the last decade. The first phase will cover 16 assembly segments,” he said. “From 15 to 20 November, we will address 18 constituencies in the second phase, followed by 16 constituencies from 22 to 27 November in the third phase, and finally 20 constituencies from 29 November to 4 December in the fourth phase.”

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief emphasised the importance of the people of Delhi wanting the Congress to return to power, pointing to sentiments of “Sheila Dikshit ki Delhi” in a reference to the late Congress chief minister.

The party's media and publicity department chairperson Pawan Khera added that while the Congress previously focused on doing substantial work rather than publicity, both former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are now spending heavily on promoting their achievements — despite having accomplished little — and the necessity of highlighting the positive contributions of the previous government.

Prominent Delhi leaders present at the launch included Khera, former DPCC presidents Subhash Chopra and Anil Choudhary, former parliamentarian and ex-Delhi mayor Jai Prakash Aggarwal, former ministers Mangat Ram Singhal, Haroon Yousuf, Parvez Hashmi, and Dr Yoganand Shastri.

All India Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba, who has transitioned between Congress and AAP, as well as former Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress president Rajesh Lilothia, the party's Delhi in-charges Danish Abrar from Rajasthan and Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala from Punjab, were also in attendance. Though youth representation was limited, Varun Choudhary was there, while Abhishek Dutt and Kanhaiya Kumar were notably absent.

By beginning the yatra this far ahead of the election schedule, Congress is hoping to avoid the pitfalls it faced in Haryana, where it lost to the BJP, acknowledging that over-reliance on the Jat community's votes contributed to the defeat. Consequently, the party is adopting a more inclusive and broad-based approach for the Delhi Assembly election campaign.

Earlier this month, the Delhi Congress launched its manifesto committee on October 7, spearheaded by the campaign ‘Dilliwalon Aao-Dilli Chalao’ (Delhiites, Come and Lead Delhi).

Yadav stated that the party intends to gather suggestions from Delhi’s residents on pressing issues affecting their daily lives, such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and public services. The objective is to ensure the Congress manifesto not only addresses immediate concerns but also provides concrete solutions to the everyday challenges faced by the populace.

This announcement coincides with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) organising daily padayatras in Delhi. Recently, during AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s padayatra in Vikaspuri, he was reportedly attacked, with AAP members alleging that BJP goons were responsible. AAP has accused the BJP of orchestrating a “deep-seated conspiracy” against their leader.

Assembly elections in Delhi are anticipated to be held in early 2025. Congress failed to win a single seat in the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, while AAP secured 62 out of the 70 seats, with the BJP winning eight.