Change in plans 

The Congress managers in charge of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra are in a huddle as the yatra nears Jammu. Recently, a group of senior leaders of the party met with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu and sought cooperation from the state administration for the yatra. During the discussion, it was mentioned that if Rahul decides to walk on foot, it may take more than eight days to reach Srinagar, making it difficult for the administration to arrange special security for the yatris. Moreover, due to a difficult terrain, it will be a herculean task to walk on foot. Later, Congress leaders decided that Rahul would move from Jammu towards Srinagar by car and drop down before the city. From there, he will go on foot to Lal Chowk to hoist the national flag. 

Impact of yatra 

Senior BJP leaders have now instructed local party leaders to give a detailed report on the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Before reaching Delhi, Rahul had covered nine states, including Karnataka, which will soon go to the polls. It was reported in Delhi headquarters that people in some districts met Rahul during the yatra and presented him with a charter of demands they want to see if the Congress government is elected in the state. BJP state leaders have been asked to give instructions to the “panna pramukh” of those districts and get the list of demands as given by the people. Now, panna pramukhs are busy trying to identify the people who met Rahul. Interestingly, local Congress leaders were made aware of these incidents and are now shielding the public from informing BJP leaders.  

Grand alliance in Tripura 

The grand old Congress and the traditional archrival CPI-(M) are almost certainly joining forces for the upcoming Tripura assembly election. To give a message to the voters of the state, State Congress President Birajit B. Sinha, CPM state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury, and other left party leaders have issued a joint appeal to defeat the BJP in the upcoming state assembly polls. Initially, there were talks to include the Tripura indigenous progressive regional alliance (TIPRA), a regional political party that is agitating for a separate state for the indigenous people. The head of the organisation, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Devbarma, from the Tripura royal family, was in the Congress party but was not getting enough attention from Rahul Gandhi so he resigned to form this group. State Congress leaders are hesitating to include TIPRA in the alliance, as Rahul may get annoyed. This has come as a great relief to the state BJP.