Arunachal part of Rahul Gandhi's 66-day yatra-2; Kharge calls for united fight
AICC brass and state Congress leaders on Thursday held a meeting here to showcase the Opposition party gearing up with its plans for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls even as the leadership finalised the route for Rahul Gandhi's Yatra-2 by renaming it as 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' and by including (after its exclusion in the earlier list led to some chatter) the sensitive border state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its 15-state yatra, covering 100 Lok Sabha seats.
Like in the case of last year's Yatra-1, the Congress has extended invitations to the leaders of the party's allies (now INDIA bloc) to participate in the yatra.
Detailing the route of Gandhi's 66-day, 6,713 km, Yatra-2 from Imphal which will begin on April 14, mostly by bus with short stretches of walk in city areas, AICC communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh said among other states, Yatra-2 will travel in (alliance-seeking states ) Uttar Pradesh 1,074 km in 11 days in 20 districts; in West Bengal 523 km in five days in seven districts; in Bihar 425 km in 4 days, in 7 districts; in Jharkhand 804 km in 8 days in 13 districts; and in Maharashtra 480 km in 6 days in 5 districts.
Among the states it lost in the recent elections, Yatra-2 will spend 5 days in Chhattisgarh, 7 days in Madhya Pradesh, and a day in two border districts of Rajasthan and 5 days in Gujarat.
Ramesh said in view of the «unanimous view» of the state Congress leaders that «the brand and value» of the first yatra should be retained, Yatra-2 has been renamed as 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'.
Earlier, addressing the presidents of the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) and leaders of the Congress Legislature Parties (CLPs), party president Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Congress leaders in the states to
