Deoria, Uttar Pradesh:
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi set out on a 2,500 km-long march from Uttar Pradesh's Deoria today, meeting farmers, in hopes of reviving the party in the politically important state.
Hans Kumar Singh, a farmer in Deoria was the first person Rahul Gandhi met on the Yatra. The Congress leader is collecting a charter of demands from the farmers on the way.
Rahul Gandhi has reached Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. The Kisan Yatra has started.
And this is how they look. 2,500 cots, all laid out in Rudrapur of Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh for a Khaat Sabha.
Read here.
Cots being assembled for a 'Khat Sabha'. Congress hopes to woo the vote of the Hindi heartland through these meetings modelled along the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Chai Pe Charcha campaign.
This is what Deoria to Delhi Kisan Yatra schedule looks like for Day 1.
With less than three hours to go, clouds hang over Rahul Gandhi's plans for a crisp start to the day. It is pouring in Deoria, reports NDTV's Alok Pandey.
On the first two days, Mr Gandhi will cover Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabirnagar and Basti besides Deoria.
The 'Deoria to Delhi yatra' will start from Panchlari Kritpura village and see a door-to-door campaign of collecting 'Kisan Mangpatras' (charters of farmers demands), one-to-one interaction with farmers through Khaat (cot) Sabhas, a concept similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Chai pe Charcha' during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and roadside meetings.
"My yatra from Deoria to Delhi starting September 6 is a campaign to secure the rights of the poor, farmers and labourers in government resources," Mr Gandhi's office has said in a tweet.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will set out on a 2,500 km-long march from Uttar Pradesh's Deoria today, meeting farmers, in hopes of reviving the party in the politically important state.