Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says he hasn't got any blisters, nor is he using any sunscreen, while walking around 20 kilometres a day in the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. He was chatting with Congress workers as they sat down for a regular evening catch-up at their campsite in Karnataka, where Rahul Gandhi also voted in the party's presidential elections.
In a video put out by the party's social media team — titled "What's up, Yatris?" — Rahul Gandhi asks party workers if they are doing fine, health-wise, and if everyone is indeed walking in the march. "Yes, sir. 100 per cent," they reply in unison.
"There are some problems when you walk so long, initially — like blisters," says one of the Yatris.
"Has everyone got blisters?" Mr Gandhi asks.
"I haven't got any," replies the lone woman in the circle.
"Nor have I," responds Mr Gandhi.
Now in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi started the Yatra on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
The Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir 'Unite India March' completed 1,000 of its targeted 3,570 kilometres yesterday. Rahul Gandhi's fitness and his interactions with people are among the most talked-about parts of the march.
Some shots in the video show party workers with bandaged feet.
Fellow marchers list their best moments excitedly when he asks them about their experience. "We are getting to witness so many cultures. We can simply stop and talk to a tea-seller, and get to know so much," says one. He says that even walking 14-15 km a day isn't tiring them.
Mr Gandhi suggests why not walk more daily: "We can tire you, if you want that," but then reasons why the upper limit of around 20 km has been kept, "so that we can avoid peak heat".
The Yatra, seen as Congress's push for the 2024 contest, will take about five months to complete.
When one of the Yatris asks what he does during the halt time — between 7.30 in the evening and 6.30 the next morning — Mr Gandhi replies, "I do a bit of exercise. I read. I call up my mum, see what she's doing. Call up my sister... some friends."
"Which sunscreen are you using?" a young man asks him.
"I don't use any sunscreen. None," Rahul Gandhi replies.
Told that "there is some tanning visible", he tells them, "My mum has sent some (sunscreen), but I am not using it."
He also addresses why the Yatra is being held at all: "We have been doing our job as Opposition. We had no option other than this Yatra, other than hitting the road, meeting people directly."
"There is just no other way left for us," he adds, citing alleged capture of institutions by the ruling BJP.
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