Congress looks for Rahul Gandhi footprint on MP assembly seats covered by his Bharat Jodo Yatra

Congress looks for Rahul Gandhi footprint on MP assembly seats covered by his Bharat Jodo Yatra

The Congress is hoping to reap electoral dividends in 21 Madhya Pradesh assembly seats covered by its leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra last year as the opposition party aims to return to power in a state where it lost its government midway.

In May this year, the Congress hailed the Bharat Jodo Yatra for the party's success in the Karnataka assembly polls, having won 15 of the 20 assembly constituencies in the state the Gandhi-led foot march passed through.

Now, the Congress is expecting a similar result in Madhya Pradesh, where voting will be held in a single phase for 230 assembly seats on November 17.

Last month, when the Congress won a majority in the elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, the party said it was a direct impact of Gandhi's padyatra.

During the Madhya Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the former Congress president walked 380 km through 21 assembly seats across six districts of the Malwa-Nimar region -- Burhanpur, Khandwa, Khargone, Indore, Ujjain and Agar Malwa in nearly two weeks.

There was a feeling among party leaders that the yatra would rejuvenate cadres and infuse much-needed energy in the state Congress, making it ready for the 2023 polls.

In the outgoing assembly, the BJP has 14 of the 21 seats that fell in the yatra's route in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress tally stands at seven.

Former state Congress president Arun Yadav, who hails from Malwa-Nimar, told Former state Congress president Arun Yadav, who hails from Malwa-Nimar, told PTI.