Uttar Pradesh Leg Of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra Shortened (image: twitter.com/bharatjodo)

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi”s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh will be shortened than it was planned earlier. The yatra will enter the state on February 16 and exit on February 22/23 rather than February 27/28.

UPCC chief Ajay Rai said that the Yatra has been crunched owing to the impending board exams, reports The Times of India.

In Uttar Pradesh, the yatra will pass through 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, among them include Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat Varanasi, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Allahabad, Phulpur, and Lucknow.

As per the revised plan, the yatra will skip most of the western Uttar Pradesh and enter directly from Lucknow to Aligarh and then to Agra, both in west UP, before traversing through Madhya Pradesh, sources told Indian Express. Interestingly, Jayant Chaudhary led-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which has strong presence in Western UP is in talks with BJP to join NDA ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Sources in Congress told Indian Express that the curtailment of UP journey has nothing to do with the political advancements regarding the RLD.

The yatra in Uttar Pradesh is significant for the Congress, as the state possess 80 Lok Sabha seats and the party has failed to make a mark in the previous two Lok Sabha elections.

The march was to end in Mumbai by March 20 and as per this revised schedule, the yatra may end a week earlier  than it planned.

Meanwhile, the INDIA alliance is aiming for a joint rally later this month to present a joint opposition after Janata Dal (United) supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar”s exit. Besides, the alliance is facing a crisis as AAP and TMC declared that they would go solo in Punjab and West Bengal, respectively, in the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls.