New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will review the party’s proposed 'Uttar Pradesh Jodo Yatra' aimed to revive the grand old party in the crucial state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with senior leaders on December 18. The yatra will be launched from Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh on December 20 and will cover around nine districts in western and central Uttar Pradesh and aims to reestablish Congress connection with the masses in the state, which is crucial from the point of view of the next parliamentary elections.
The Yatra will cover districts like Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur, Sitapur and culminate in Lucknow. “Congress needs mass contact and this yatra is going to be helpful in Uttar Pradesh. I am very much hopeful about the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The agenda for the state has been set, but when our leaders will review the preparations some new aspects may come up,” Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari told ETV Bharat.
At present, the Congress is on the margins in Uttar Pradesh politics, given the party has just two out of a total of 403 MLAs in the Assembly and just one out of a total of 80 MPs in the Lok Sabha. However, the party hopes to make a comeback through its programmes and suitably aided by allies Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, who are part of the INDIA alliance.
The yatra will be launched a day after the leaders of 28 INDIA parties meet in New Delhi on December 19 to discuss the way ahead of the opposition alliance. At some stage, Rahul and Priyanka may also join the yatra for greater impact. “The result will be good together with our allies. That is the purpose of the INDIA alliance,” said Tiwari.
In effect, the UP Jodo Yatra is likely to focus majorly on consolidating the party’s traditional Muslim vote bank as it will criss-cross through the nine districts in western parts, but there will be brief stop-overs and worships at various local temples along the entire route.
“This yatra is an extension of Bharat Jodo Yatra. The slogan is "Nafrat Choro, UP Joro,” UP Congress chief Ajai Rai said. On December 15, Rai conducted a foot march with local leaders across his home town Varanasi to pray at various holy places for the success of the "UP Joro Yatra." On December 16, the state women’s team protested against the law and order situation and crimes against women in Lucknow to target the state government.
Proper teams have been formed for coordinating the yatra and publicizing it on the various social media platforms, said UP Congress leaders. Rai was recently appointed by the Congress as UP unit chief to turn around the party’s fortunes. Though the Congress leaders have been claiming to fight on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats, insiders said an alliance with SP and RLD will be beneficial given the BJP’s focus on the Ayodhya temple opening on January 22, 2024.
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