Congress, on Sunday, announced it will launch a two-month national movement called “Hath se Hath Jodo Abhiyan” (Joining Hands Movement) as a follow-up of the current ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. The new movement will commence on the Republic Day, January 26.
Party’s General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the “Hath se Hath Jodo Yatra” will be held at three levels, at the village, block and district level along with conferences and rallies at the state level.
The Hath se hath Jodo Yatra, which envisages a people’s movement to get together and stand together forming a human chain, will be observed at the block level covering all Gram panchayats and booths for the preparation of Congress ahead for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This yatra will begin in 2023, a year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Many a celebrity will join the Yatra with Rahul Gandhi.
Through the yatra, Rahul Gandhi aims to put out an image of a leader who connects the people on the ground to counter the oft-repeated complaint that he is not proactive when it comes to mobilising support at the grassroots level.
The decision for the yatra was taken at a first meeting of the Congress navigating committee of which party chief Mallikarjun Kharge is a part. A 47-member guiding committee was formed after Kharge took over as the party president in October.
On Sunday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said the “Hath se Hath Jodo Abhiyan” will have a special focus on the youth.
“The party will also hand over a letter [to people] from Rahul Gandhi and a chargesheet against the [Narendra] Modi Government during this period,” he said.
The 3,570-km Bharat Jodo Yatra, which set off from Kanyakumari on September 7, is currently in Rajasthan. It will culminate in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress launched the march with an aim to counter the divisive politics which the party alleges is espoused by the Bharatiya Janata Party.