Congress leader advises Rahul to stop Bharat Jodo Yatra, shift focus to Himachal, Gujarat

As Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi has covered four states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, former Goa Chief Minister and Congress MP Francisco Sardinha has advised the Wayanad MP to stop the yatra and go to the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat to awaken the public. The former Goa Chief Minister further claimed that Congress is the only party that can defeat the ruling BJP. 

"I want Rahul Gandhi to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra and go to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat to awaken the public so that they vote for the only party that can defeat BJP. The only party that can be an opposition to BJP is Congress," Francisco Sardinha was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

The Congress leader's statement came after the Rahul Gandhi-led Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra covered 1,000 km and entered the state of Karnataka on Saturday. Notably, Karnataka is also scheduled to go to polls next year in 2023. In fact, during his speech in the state, Rahul Gandhi stated that the party is trying to focus on winning people’s mandate in the state in an upcoming election. "We are currently focussing to win people’s mandate in the state in an upcoming election. After winning, we will decide the chief ministerial candidate based on a process that is carried out in Congress party," he said. 

Will Bharat Jodo Yatra turn the table for Congress?

The Congress party has high hopes from the nationwide yatra which started on September 7 with a grand beginning. The yatra clearly is Congress' show of strength as thousands of people are marching together on the street with senior party leaders to showcase their support to the grand old party ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Assembly election. It also somewhere seems that the yatra has evoked a genuine public response towards the party. 

Upcoming Himachal and Gujarat polls 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on October 14 announced the schedule for Himachal Pradesh's polling. According to the ECI schedule, the voting will take place on November 12 and the counting of votes will be done on December 8 to constitute a new 68-member state Assembly.

While the Commission had not announced the elections for the Gujarat Assembly polls. Notably, the entry of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also entered the fray in the BJP-ruled state and is claiming to oust the saffron party.