Congress leader Rahul Gandhi started his 3,570 km padayatra on Thursday after hoisting the national flag at a makeshift camp on the grounds of Vivekananda technical institute, close to the Kanyakumari beach. For the next five months or so, Rahul Gandhi and his 118 fellow travellers of Bharat Jodo Yatra, designated as Bharat yatris, would be on a mission to bridge social divisions, highlight issues like unemployment and inflation and start a dialogue with different sections of the society.