Some days after the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ crossed Haryana, a new trend of politicians getting out on the roads and holding similar rallies have started emerging in the state that is scheduled to go to polls in 2024.
After January 30, when the Bharat Jodo Yatra will conclude in Srinagar, Congress’ Haryana unit, led by state party chief president Udai Bhan and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be conducting a two-month-long “Haath-se-Haath Jodo Abhiyan” — a mass-connect programme eyeing 2024 Lok Sabha as well as Vidhan Sabha polls.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA from Ellenabad and former Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala has also announced a state-wide seven-month long yatra being dubbed as Parivartan rally covering all the 90 assembly constituencies. Chautala’s yatra will start on February 20 from Nuh and conclude on September 25, the birth anniversary of INLD founder and former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.
Independent MLA from Meham Balraj Kundu started yatra from Nangal Sirohi on January 26. Kundu told The Pioneer, “I had planned to start the yatra from November 1, 2022, on the occasion of Haryana Diwas, but due to certain reasons I could not do so. So now I started it from January 26 and will cover 30 Vidhan Sabha constituencies before reaching Chandigarh on February 22. All the rural areas of these constituencies will be covered during yatra. The aim of the yatra will be to make the youths aware,” he said, adding that daily, he is walking for 23-25 km.
Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said: “As a follow up to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, the state unit of Congress will conduct the Haath-se-Haath-Jodo Yatra for a mass-connect ahead of the state Assembly polls.”
Sharing details about the Congress’ ‘Hath Se Jodo Hath’ program, Hooda said that the party meeting is going to be held soon. “Haryana Congress will leave no stone unturned to make this program a success. Like Bharat Jodo Yatra, this program will also get historical support in Haryana,” he stated.
Hooda further said that every Congress worker is fully prepared for 2024 elections and people have made up their mind to bring back the Congress government in the State and this was visible in the historic support received by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana.
“The people of the state had already made up their mind on bringing back the Congress,” he said.
On BJP’s preparations for the elections, Hooda said that the public is gearing up to defeat BJP and JJP. “Today, there are a lot of problems before the people. Congress will go to people on issues like corruption, unemployment, inflation, increasing crime and drugs,” he said.
BJP state president Om Prakash Dhankar recently said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has planned to hold rallies in all the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies of Haryana soon. In every rally, senior BJP leaders from the Centre or a Union Minister will participate. For this, the BJP has prepared a complete strategy, he added.
