Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra”: Congress’s Outreach Amid Political Rifts in West Bengal

On Thursday, the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress "Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra" is expected to travel from Assam to West Bengal, causing political rifts within the state's INDIA bloc coalition.

The Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's declaration that her party would stand alone in West Bengal for the next Lok Sabha elections will before the start of the Yatra's Bengal leg.

The TMC and the Congress are members of the INDIA alliance, which was established to challenge the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

The Yatra is expected to pass via Bakshirhat in the northern Cooch Behar district of West Bengal to reach West Bengal.

After a two-day break on January 26–27, it will pass through the districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur, and Darjeeling before arriving in Bihar on January 29.

Before leaving the state on February 1, it will re-enter West Bengal on January 31 via Malda and go via the districts of Murshidabad, both of which are strongholds for the Congress.

The five-day Bengal portion of the yatra covers 523 kilometers across six districts and six Lok Sabha seats, including two in Murshidabad and Darjeeling, Raigunj, North and South Malda, and two in Darjeeling.

Rahul Gandhi is making his first trip to the state after the assembly elections in April and May of 2021.

"We are hopeful that the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra of Rahul Ji will give a new lease of life to Bengal's Congress unit," said former state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya, expressing confidence. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, this Yatra will benefit us both politically and organizationally." Gandhi will lead a padayatra from Maa Bhawani Chowk in the town of Cooch Behar when he enters the state on Thursday afternoon.

After passing through Gokshadanga, the Yatra will proceed by bus to Falakata in the Alipurduar district, where it will stop for the night.

The yatra is scheduled to resume from Falakata on January 28 after a break of two days on January 26 and 27, traveling through the districts of Uttar Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, and Naxalbari in Darjeeling.

It is anticipated that the CPI (M) and Left parties, who are supporters of the Congress in the state and the INDIA bloc nationally, would participate in the march.

TMC, however, has chosen not to participate, alleging insufficient knowledge about the Yatra.

"Did Congress let me know that they are coming to Bengal for the Yatra as a courtesy?" Banerjee said. It is unknown to me." Deepa Dasmunsi, a senior Congress leader, remarked, "It seems the TMC is trying to help the BJP in the state."

In a blow to the opposition INDIA group, TMC chief Banerjee said on Wednesday that her party will run separately in the next Lok Sabha elections.

The old party was taken aback by the unexpected change. "No one can imagine the existence of the opposition INDIA bloc without West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee," said Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the Congress, in Assam. The TMC, Congress, and the Left Front, headed by the CPI (M), comprise the 28-party INDIA bloc.

But in West Bengal, the Congress and CPI(M) have united against the TMC and BJP.

Commencing in Manipur on January 14, the Yatra is slated to traverse 110 districts across 15 states and travel 6,713 miles in 67 days, finishing on March 20 in Mumbai.