New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday hailed the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra for the party’s stellar performance in the Karnataka assembly elections and said it won 15 of the 20 assembly constituencies in the state the foot march passed through. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who is said to be behind the Yatra’s execution, pointed out that the foot march passed through 20 assembly constituencies and the party won in 15 of them — Bellary (ST), Bellary City, Gundlupet, Challakere (ST), Hiriyur, Molakamuru (ST), Nagamangala, Srirangapatna, Nanjangud (SC), Narsimharaja, Varuna, Raipur Rural, Gubi and Sira, and Congress-backed candidate of the Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha won in Melukote.
Of the remaining five seats, the JD(S) won Chamundeshwari, Chikkanayakkanahalli, and Turuvekore, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got Krishnaraja and Raichur. In 2018, the Congress had won just five of these 20 constituencies, while the BJP took nine and the JD(S) six, Ramesh pointed out.
Tagging the previous Assembly elections results of these 20 constituencies along with that of now, he tweeted, “While this is the direct impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, the intangible impact was uniting the party, reviving the cadre and shaping the narrative for the Karnataka elections.”
He added that it was during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from the many conversations Rahul Gandhi had with the people of Karnataka, that the guarantees and the promises in the Congress manifesto were discussed and finalised.
While this is the direct impact of the #BharatJodoYatra in Karnataka, the intangible impact was uniting the party, reviving the cadre and shaping the narrative for the Karnataka elections. It was during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from the many conversations @RahulGandhi had with the… pic.twitter.com/r1JOWMoei3
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 13, 2023
It is notable that the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30 last year at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagara district. It passed through Chamarajanagara, Mysuru, Mandya, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary, and Raichur, traversing a distance of over 500 kilometers in about 22 days in the southern state.
During the Kanyakumari to Kashmir campaign, Rahul Gandhi walked some 3,000 kilometers over three months.
Bharat Jodo Yatra was the ‘Sanjivani’ for Congress
Talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s role in the Congress’ performance in Karnataka, Jairam Ramesh told the news agency PTI that the foot march was the ‘Sanjivani’ for the party. In the Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’, ‘Lakshmana’ was revived from a comatose to consciousness with a magical herb called ‘Sanjivani’.
“It was the Sanjeevini for the party. It energised the organisation and instilled a deep sense of unity and solidarity among leaders and workers,” Ramesh said.
