Gujarat Congress unit on Friday launched a 15-day “Nyay Yatra” to begin its mission of reviving the party in the state, where it last won an assembly election in 1985. The journey will stretch from Morbi to Gandhinagar, covering approximately 350 kilometres.
The party plans to utilise this yatra to draw attention to its call for justice for the victims of recent tragedies in the state, including a bridge collapse, fire incidents, and a boat accident that have claimed hundreds of lives.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had declared during his first visit to the state following the Lok Sabha elections that the party will oust the BJP in the 2027 assembly elections.
He said, “A new Congress will rise from Gujarat… we will make them learn a lesson,” while speaking at a party event in Ahmedabad. This statement came days after violent confrontations erupted between Congress and BJP supporters outside the Gujarat Congress office on July 2, during a protest by the BJP’s youth wing in response to Rahul’s remarks on Hindus and the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
The yatra will be mainly led by Palbhai Ambaliya, the chairman of the Congress farmers’ wing in Gujarat, and state Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, in addition to Congress leader Lalji Desai. The yatra will pass through Morbi, Rajkot, Chotila, Wadhwan, and Viramgam before arriving in Gandhinagar on August 23.
From the party’s high command, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to join the action after the Budget Session of Parliament.
Gujarat has had seven straight BJP victories since 1995. Prime Minister Narendra Modi served as the state’s Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded Modi as the CM till August 2016. After her, Vijay Rupani assumed office but quit in September 2021. Bhupendra Patel took up his role.
During Patel’s term, there have been many accidents. 135 people were died when a suspension bridge built during the colonial era in Morbi, Gujarat, collapsed in October 2022. A boat capsized in January of this year in the Harni Lake of Vadodara, killing 14 people, including 12 schoolchildren.
Additionally, at least 27 people died in the TRP Gamezone fire in Rajkot in May.
Rahul had acknowledged in his address last month that the Congress did not perform to its full potential in the 2022 assembly elections, where the BJP secured 156 seats, leaving the Congress with only 17 seats and a 27.28 per cent vote share.
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