Congress divided over Gujarat's exclusion in Bharat Jodo Yatra

NEW DELHI: With much fanfare, the Congress' "Bharat Jodo Yatra" entered its fourth day on Sunday but the party appeared divided over the yatra's route map, particularly the exclusion of Gujarat. Many in the party want the campaign to cover the poll-bound state.

Insiders claim that many leaders, even when the yatra was in the planning stage, had wanted it to cover Gujarat. However, the yatra planners argued that it was logistically not possible to include the state, as that would have added to the duration of the long-drawn campaign stretching over 3,500 km and 150 days from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

However, a Congress leader, on the condition of anonymity, said that Gujarat should have been on the map of the yatra as it was a poll-bound. He added, "Several leaders from Gujarat have left the party. AAP is also making its presence felt in the state. The yatra would have given a huge boost to the party. It is shocking that the leaders who were planning this yatra did not take this into account."

Apart from Gujarat, the yatra also skips most of the eastern states. Seeing the success of the yatra in the initial stages, the party cadres want the yatra to visit their respective states as well.

According to sources, leaders from Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh had requested the yatra organising committee to include both the poll-bound states in the campaign. However, the organising committee ignored these demands. The Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh leaders were instead told to start their own yatras in their respective states and join in the main yatra.