Lucknow: Due to the impending UP Board examinations, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh has been rescheduled and shortened.
According to UPCC chairman Ajay Rai, the yatra would now enter Uttar Pradesh on February 16 rather than February 14, and end on February 22/23 rather than February 27/28 as planned.
The yatra will skip western UP and instead head to Bundelkhand. While a revised plan will be released shortly, it will continue with its primary itinerary from Chandauli to Lucknow.
After entering Chandauli, the yatra will head to Varanasi and traverse through Bhadohi, Prayagraj and Pratapgarh before entering Amethi.
Rae Bareli and Lucknow are the next stops.
As per the plan, the yatra will cover Amethi and Rae Bareli on February 19. However, instead of heading to Sitapur from Lucknow, it will now proceed to Kanpur and then to Jhansi from where it would enter Madhya Pradesh.
There may be inclusions between Kanpur and Jhansi.
“The alterations have been made in the wake of logistical issues. The places where cadres and organisers were supposed to stay are usually private schools or colleges which will now be reserved for the board exams,” Rai said.
The deletion of western UP from Rahul's itinerary is significant since it comes soon after RLD snapped ties with the INDIA bloc.
The Congress now has a very limited presence in western UP and the party also does not have any leader of substance in the region.
"We do not want to send a message that Rahul's presence in a particular area did not help us win seats," said a senior leader
With inputs from IANS