Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra here in Mandya district, Karnataka. It is after a long gap Sonia is participating in a public event of the party.
Sonia Gandhi walked beside Rahul Gandhi leading the yatra for a few kilometres along the Mandya district.
Several other party leaders including senior Congress leaders, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and PCC president D K Shivakumar, walked along with the Gandhis.
Security personnel had a tough time controlling the crowds which jostled to get a glimpse of the Congress president.
This is the first time that Sonia Gandhi has joined a public event after recovering from COVID-19 earlier this year. The Congress president had contracted coronavirus twice and was also hospitalised.
Sonia Gandhi has not been electioneering or participating in public events of the party for a long time due to health reasons.
She had last participated in a roadshow in Varanasi in August 2016 where she sustained a shoulder injury and later underwent surgery.
The 3,570 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra began from Kanyakumari on September 8. With the Yatra, the Congress said it wants to combat the alleged divisive politics of the BJP-led Central government.
"The response we have garnered from a BJP-ruled state in Karnataka shows that the countdown for BJP's fall in the next election has begun," Congress MP Jairam Ramesh at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' was quoted by ANI.
Sonia Gandhi arrived in Mysuru on Monday afternoon. The yatra resumed on Thursday after a two-day break for Dussehra. The Padayatra is aimed to cover as many as 12 states in five months.
(With inputs from PTI)
