Bharat Jodo Yatra: Stars who walked with Rahul Gandhi
What's the story
Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY), led by the party's former president Rahul Gandhi, is crossing through states and cities across India. The foot march, which began on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, reached Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday morning. As the walk enters its 83rd day, here's a look at Bollywood stars that have joined Gandhi in his ambitious walk so far.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Orchestrated by Gandhi, BJY aims at mobilizing Congress's cadre and general public by walking on foot from Kanyakumari to Jammu & Kashmir. The movement, spread over 3,500 kilometers, is expected to make the complete journey in 150 days. Literally meaning 'uniting India march,' Congress claims BJY's aim is to unite the country against alleged "divisive politics." Meanwhile, several film personalities have also joined BJY.
Madhya Pradesh
Sawara Bhasker joins Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh
Gandhi's BJY is presently passing through Madhya Pradesh. Swara Bhasker was previously supposed to join Gandhi on Wednesday in Indore, but eventually, joined him on Thursday morning. Gandhi was in Ujjain's Sanwer constituency when Bhasker joined him on the walk. Interestingly, Sanwer was a Congress-dominated seat until Tulsi Silawat (now minister), one of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's 22 MLAs, joined BJP in December 2018.
Telangana
Pooja Bhatt walks briefly with Gandhi in Hyderabad
Actress-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt also briefly joined the Congress leader in his walk when the yatra was cutting through Hyderabad. Bhatt walked with Gandhi for some distance after the Congress MP resumed his rally from Balanagar. Taking to Twitter, Bhatt revealed she walked 10.5 km. Gandhi was also joined by former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin in Telangana, apart from South actor Poonam Kaur.
Maharashtra
Amol Palekar, Riya Sen, Rashmi Desai, etc join in Maharashtra
Veteran actor Amol Palekar and his wife, writer-filmmaker Sandhya Gokhale joined Gandhi in Maharashtra's Buldhana district. Later, in Akola district, Jhankaar Beats actor Riya Sen walked with Gandhi. Actors Rashami Desai and Akanksha Puri also walked for the Congress movement in Maharashtra. The other stars from showbiz who were seen walking for kilometers included Sushant Singh in Nanded and Mona Ambegaonkar in Buldhana.