By Pawan Khera and Manish Khanduri

There was a sense of excitement and anticipation as the Yatris started their morning with, as is now usual, a flag hoisting ceremony and singing of Vande Mataram and the national anthem. The Yatris got off to a 6AM start from Yeragera village and it was a pleasant walk for most of the duration.

This will be the last day of the #BharatJodoYatra in the state of Karnataka and what a journey it has been!

The willingness of the people of Karnataka to engage with the Yatris remained undiminished. We met on the road Shaishav Ali and his family. “We have come a long way to see the Yatris”, Ali said. Of much the same view were Lakitha, Pavithra and Krupa who were “hoping to meet Rahul Gandhi.”

Along the way Gandhi walked with Trilochan Sastry, a noted academic from IIM Bangalore, activist and social entrepreneur.

The Yatris’ hard won experience in Karnataka shows that the state is struggling. Its farmers are on the edge of poverty, its youth unable to find jobs. The BJP government has plummeted to unprecedented depths of corruption, and is infamous for its ‘40 percent commission.’ A poisonous atmosphere fostered by the BJP government is dividing society and promoting hatred.

The #BharatJodoYatra is a promise that the Congress stands firmly against these divisive and destructive trends, and will fight for the idea of a secular, tolerant and just Karnataka and India.

In the afternoon Gandhi will have two interactions. One will be a representation from minority communities across Karnataka. And the other is with MGNREGA workers and Devadasi women from Raichur.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is a five month, 3500 kilometre long padyatra from Kanyakumari in the South of India to Kashmir up in the North. It is part of the party’s national mass outreach program aimed at highlighting social polarisation, economic inequalities and political centralisation.

Ground research: Aparna Ashwarya (INC Communications Department research team)

Midday Travel Facts

1. Current District Name – Raichur
2. The famous Hatti Gold mines are located in Raichur district. The mine is considered to be one of the oldest metal mines in the world
3. Raichur district is known as the cotton bowl of Karnataka
4. The two rivers, the Krishna and the Tungabhadra form Raichur district’s entire North and Southern boundaries