The Kerala stretch of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kick-started at Parassala on Sunday morning at 7 am.

Rahul Gandhi and his entourage of around 300 Congress leaders and supporters were formally received at Parassala by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.

Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar,  former chief minister Oommen Chandy,  senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala, Shashi Tharoor, K  Muraleedharan, Benny Behanan, Adoor Prakash, Anto Antony, Jebi Mather and State co-ordinator of the rally Kodikunnil Suresh, all MPs, United Democratic Front (UDF) convener MM Hassan and several legislators

The Gandhi scion commenced the Kerala stretch of the yatra after paying floral tributes before the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and K Kamaraj at Parassala.

While entering Kerala, Rahul Gandhi remembered Sree Narayana Guru and tweeted: “Gain freedom through education, gain strength through organization, gain prosperity through the industry.” Today, as we enter the beautiful state of Kerala, on the auspicious occasion of Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti, his words inspire every step we take on the #BharatJodoYatra (sic)“.

Before leaving Tamil Nadu, Rahul tweeted “As we bid adieu to the land of Thiruvalluvar & Kamaraj, I thank the people of Tamil Nadu for the immense love & support you have given to #BharatJodoYatra.”

Bharat Jodo yatra entered Kerala on Saturday evening with thousands of Congress workers giving him a rousing welcome at the Tamil Nadu border

The morning stretch of today’s yatra ended at the residence of noted freedom fighter G Ramachandran at Urathukala. It will start again at 4 pm and will end at Nemom in Thiruvanthapuram at 7 pm.  Rahul Gandhi will utilize the intervening time to interact with weavers in the area.

 The Yatra will be in Kerala in the next 18 days and it will cover 12 Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly constituencies in the state, before leaving for Karnataka on 30 September

 Congress on  Wednesday launched its nationwide ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ (Uniting India rally) from Kanyakumari, seeking to reach out to people and rejuvenate its organisation. It will pass through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot, Jammu, and end in Srinagar in February next year.