Uddhav's faction, NCP invited to join yatra

New Delhi, November 5

The ongoing “Bharat Jodo Yatra” will enter Maharashtra on November 7, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi scheduled to address two rallies (November 10 and 18) as part of his mass contact initiative that started from Kanyakumari on September 7.

Congress leaders say they have invited the NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, both members of the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government that ruled the state before Eknath Shinde toppled it, to join the yatra while Gandhi will cover 382 km across the state before entering Madhya Pradesh on November 20.

The party is awaiting a confirmation from the two allies, who are also expected to partner in the forthcoming elections in the state, they say. More than 100 prominent personalities will participate in the yatra and “NCP president Sharad Pawar is expected to join it on November 9,” say state leaders who are planning to highlight the participation of the NCP and the Uddhav Thackeray’s faction as MVA’s show of solidarity against the BJP and the Shinde faction.

Gandhi is scheduled to reach Madnur Naka at Deglur in Nanded district from neighbouring Telangana on November 7. He will address two rallies during the yatra — one on November 10 in Nanded district and the other on November 18 at Shegaon in Buldhana district, said senior leader and state coordinator for the yatra Balasaheb Thorat.