The one big takeaway from the Congress plenary session, which ended in Raipur today, was the party's plan for another yatra led by Rahul Gandhi -- this time from east to west -- to keep up the momentum of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the run-up to the 2024 national elections. The party, sources said, is considering the plan seriously, in view of the huge response received by the last one.
While there was talk of an east-to-west foot march even when the Bharat Jodo Yatra was on, it had not made it to the drawing board. But Mr Gandhi hinted that he intends to continue.
Speaking at the plenary session, he said the Congress is a "party of sacrifice" and the "sacrifice and work must continue". "Please make a programme with our sweat and blood, and the entire country will be with us," he added.
"For four months we had undertaken the Bharat Jodo Yatra... Lakhs of people participated despite extreme weather conditions and we all learnt a lot".
The senior Congress leader said the subject of his responsibilities occupied his mind during the long, arduous 1,760-km march.
"The day we started doing this everything changed. We didn't talk politics... the relationship (with people) changed... Bharat Mata gave me a message to shed all the arrogance... I used to meet people and the arrogance etc, all vanished. When I reached Jammu and Kashmir, I became quiet... I don't have a house. Whoever comes, rich or poor, old or young, any religion, they must know I have come to their house," he said.
The 52-year-old, whose physical fitness has been the subject of many a tweet by his party and his supporters, said he was "having a lot of pain" in his leg while he was rowing a snake boat in Kerala. "I used to get up in the morning and wonder how will I do this walk every day," confessed Mr Gandhi, who set a gruelling pace for some of the party's very senior leaders.
The Congress has decided to work with like-minded political parties in the run up to 2024 elections and says it plans to continue to lead the alliance. "We would like all political parties to forge unity and work together to fight the BJP," said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The party also plans to keep up its mass contact programmes, with special focus to reach out to the poor and marginalised communities, as it gets ready for state and general elections.
