Drums, trumpets, and slogans greeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi as she briefly joined her son Rahul Gandhi and a teeming multitude of party workers and aam admi during the Bharat Jodo padyatra in Mandya in south Karnataka on Thursday.
This is the first time that Sonia joined a public event after recovering from Covid-19 earlier this year. The Congress leader has not been keeping well and she recently visited the USA for treatment.
She joined the yatra twice for brief periods and in between took a car ride. Rahul remained by her side throughout. At one point, he was seen persuading her to end her walk.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Pandavapura in Mandya on Thursday after a two-day break. Sonia joined the padayatra after it left Bellale village on Thursday morning.
Due to the massive response from public and party workers, Sonia also tweaked her programme schedule to stay with the yatris for two hours as against the 30 minutes planned earlier. The party tweeted a photo of Rahul tying his mother’s shoelaces during the walk, captioning it “Ma (mother)”.
The picture went viral on social media during the day. Congress also posted a picture of the two on Twitter, and said, “Those shielded by love fear nothing! On the road, marching ahead”.
“We have sailed through storms in the past and today too we will break the limits of all challenges and will together unite India,” Rahul tweeted as the yatra continued to traverse Karnataka, where he will stay for another 15 days before moving into Telangana.
“We have weathered many storms and will overcome all challenges. Together we will unite India,” he said in another tweet in Hindi and posted a photograph of him walking with his mother, his arm around her.
Priyanka Gandhi too was supposed to accompany Sonia to join Rahul during his padyatra. Her visit has been rescheduled due to her other commitments, and she will be joining anytime now, said an AICC source.
Congress’ nationwide campaign, which began in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari on September 7, entered Karnataka on September 30. Karnataka’s top party leaders, former Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah and State unit chief DK Shivakumar, were also part of the convoy that walked alongside the Gandhis.
“After Vijayadashami, there will be Vijaya (victory) in Karnataka. We are proud that Sonia has come to walk on the streets of Karnataka. We are coming to power in the State, and BJP is on its way to shutting its shop,” Shivakumar said, targeting the ruling party over allegations of corruption and bribery.
Sonia’s presence appeared to galvanise the participants and bystanders alike. The security personnel had a tough time taming the crowds that jostled to get a glimpse of the Congress president.