From route map to daily mileage, Cong plans countrywide march

Saubhadra Chatterji

NEW DELHI: How many kilometers must a leader walk down?

As the Congress begins planning for its Bharat Jodo yatra — its first pan-india march since Independence — several issues, including what would be the daily range of walking, is being discussed at length.

The party plans to complete the tentative 3,500 kms-long journey in five to six months.

According to two senior leaders involved in the planning, the initial proposal from a general secretary was to cover 10 kms per day by foot.

“But Rahul Gandhi, one of the fittest political leaders in the country, felt it was too little and said we must cover 35 kms daily.

A senior strategist, involved in the planning, reminded him that most of us are not as fit as he is,” one of the senior leaders said citing anonymity.

The current plan is to cover at least 10-20 kms daily, the leader added.

The route of the proposed yatra is still being worked out but the Congress plans to touch as many states as possible.

The march is most likely to start from Kanyakumari and the daily schedule will include both walking and travelling by cars along with several short halts for campaigns and roadside rallies to send across the party’s message to people.

The second senior leader said that while the march would reach the Kashmir valley, it may not go to Srinagar due to security concerns. “Our march involves a lot of public interaction and walks. But that would be difficult in the current security scenario.”

In her concluding remarks at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir earlier this month, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, “All of us will participate in it. The Yatra is to strengthen bonds of social harmony that are under stress, to preserve the foundational values of our Constitution that are under assault and to highlight the day-to-day concerns of crores of our people.”

THE PARTY PLANS TO COMPLETE THE TENTATIVE 3,500 KM-LONG JOURNEY IN 5-6 MONTHS