Congress to end Rahul yatra earlier than planned, skip most of west UP

The Uttar Pradesh leg of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be curtailed by a few days, with party insiders saying the march is likely to culminate at least a week earlier than planned.

Theyatra was scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh this week and spend 11 days in the politically crucial state that has 80 Lok Sabha seats and where the Congress has failed to make a mark in the last two Lok Sabha elections.

In UP, the yatra was to pass through 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, among them Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat Varanasi, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Allahabad, Phulpur, and Lucknow. The original route included areas such as Chandauli, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Allahabad, Bhadohi, Pratapgarh, Amethi, Rae Bareli, Lucknow, Hardoi, Sitapur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambal, Amroha, Aligarh, Badaun, Bulandshahr, and Agra.

Sources said the yatra would now skip most of the western UP districts and travel directly from Lucknow to Aligarh and then to Agra, both in west UP, before entering Madhya Pradesh. Interestingly, the Congress’s INDIA bloc partner Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) that has a strong presence in west UP is in talks with the BJP to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Sources in the Congress, however, said the decision to curtail the yatra in UP had nothing to do with the political developments involving the RLD. “We wanted to slow down the yatra to ensure that Rahul Gandhi gets time for interactions with groups on the way,” said a party leader.

Theyatra that was to culminate in Mumbai by March 20 may now end between March 10 and 14, at least a week earlier than planned as it will give more time for Gandhi to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi