On 16th February, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) charged that their “irreconcilable rift” over the party’s control was the reason why Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is not joining her brother Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh. While reacting to a social media post by Priyanka Vadra informing that she will be skipping the yatra in UP as she has been hospitalised, BJP leader and party’s IT cell head Amit Malviya wrote, “Everyone needs to look after their health. Priyanka Vadra was absent from Yatra 2.0 from the beginning, and she won’t be present even now when Rahul’s Yatra has reached Uttar Pradesh. It has become widely recognized that there is an unbridgeable divide between the brother and sister over who owns the party.”
सबको अपने स्वास्थ्य का ख़्याल रखना चाहिए। जब यात्रा 2.0 शुरू हुई तब भी प्रियंका वाडरा वहाँ से नदारद थीं, और आज जब राहुल की यात्रा उत्तर प्रदेश पहुँची है, तब भी प्रियंका वहाँ नहीं रहेंगी।
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 16, 2024
पार्टी पर मिल्कियत के लिए भाई-बहन के बीच ना पटने वाली ये खाई अब सर्वविदित है। pic.twitter.com/26KaPOBeYY
This came after Priyanka Vadra stated that she would not be able to accompany her brother on the party’s yatra which reached Uttar Pradesh on 16th February due to health concerns. Priyanka Vadra claimed that she would join him as soon as she recovered from her illess, which led to her hospitalization. She remarked, “I was really looking forward to receiving the BJNY in UP today but unfortunately, have ended up admitted to hospital. I will be there as soon as I am better. Meanwhile wishing all the yatris, my colleagues in UP who have worked hard towards making arrangements for the yatra and my sweet brother, all success as they reach Chandauli today.”
I was really looking forward to receiving the BJNY in UP today but unfortunately, have ended up admitted to hospital. I will be there as soon as I am better! Meanwhile wishing all the yatris, my colleagues in UP who have worked hard towards making arrangements for the yatra and…
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) February 16, 2024
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is being led by former Congress president and Wayanad Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi who is travelling from Manipur to Mumbai. It is currently passing through the northern states of India. The yatra will commence in the evening in Uttar Pradesh, a crucial Hindi heartland state that provides the most members of parliament to the Lok Sabha. It will traverse through the state from 16th to 21st February and then again from 24th to 25th February. The Congress reported that the 22nd and 23rd of February are going to be rest days of the yatra.
Rahul Gandhi will spend the night in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s model village Domari, in Chandauli. A tent has been erected for this purpose at the military area close to the Lord Ram Samadhi place in Avadhoot. The yatra will arrive at Varanasi, the prime minister’s hometown tomorrow, where Rahul Gandhi will speak at a public gathering at Godholia Crossing. On 20th February the yatra will arrive in Rae Bareli, where Akhilesh Yadav, the president of the Samajwadi Party, will be a part of it.
Congress, however, has unexpectedly altered the itinerary, passing via the minority areas of Moradabad, Bareilly, Amroha and Badaun before entering Rajasthan from Agra. The previous plan involved moving through the districts of Bundelkhand and then entering Madhya Pradesh. However, the authorities had not yet granted authorization for the new route.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi had cancelled the second stage of his yatra in Jharkhand, which was scheduled to start on 14th February and rushed to the national capital to participate in the farmers’ protest. Notably, the yatra which was organised to score political capital has ended up creating major splits in the I.N.D.I. Alliance with important coalition partners like All India Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and National Conference announcing their intention to run in the upcoming general election on their own.
Janata Dal (United) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the primary architect of the opposition alliance severed ties with it and rejoined the fold of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. Akhilesh Yadav on 27th January declared that he would offer only 11 seats to the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh. The state Congress leadership reportedly rejected the proposal and claimed that the decision was of Akhilesh Yadav and not their party.
A minister in Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government ridiculed the Congress party, alleging that the party was just looking for seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll for itself. DMK Minister Raja Kannappan described the Congress party as “big and old” and highlighted that it has now “lost its strength.”
The 6,700-kilometer East-West Manipur-Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra passes through 15 states to allegedly promote ‘nyay’ (justice) and encounter common people along the journey.
