Bharat Jodo Yatra was massive booster dose for Congress: Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir was a "massive booster dose" for the party and heralded a change in the country's politics.

"Today is the 2nd anniversary of the start of the truly transformational Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra. Over 200 Bharat Yatris led by Rahul Gandhi completed the 4000 km yatra, overwhelmingly on foot, over a period of 145 days and covering 12 states and 2 UTs," Ramesh said in an X post.

"This yatra led to unprecedented connectivity and collectivity and was a massive booster dose for the Indian National Congress. It heralded a change in the politics of our country as well," he said. It provided the impetus for the Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra during January-March 2024, Ramesh added.

Rahul Gandhi launched the yatra from Kanyakumari on 7 September 2022. It culminated on 30 January 2023 as Gandhi capped his ambitious 145-day journey in Srinagar.

During the course of the yatra, he 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.

With over 4,000 km 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, and Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut of the NCP.