Bharat Jodo Yatra: Akhilesh Yadav, Jayant Chaudhary To Skip Rahul's March, All Three Ex-CMs to Join In Kashmir

Bharat Jodo Yatra: The yatra, which was put on hold for nine days to celebrate the end of the year, will start on January 3.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary are unlikely to participate in the Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Uttar Pradesh even though the Opposition parties in J&K have confirmed their full attendance. Former J&K Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah of National Conference and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti have conveyed their participation in the Congress' foot march during its Kashmir leg.

The yatra, which was put on hold for nine days to celebrate the end of the year, will start on January 3 from the border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and reach Kashmir by the end of the month.

"Ive been formally invited to join @RahulGandhi ji for his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kashmir today. Salute his indomitable courage & I believe it is my duty to stand with someone who has the courage to challenge fascist forces. Will be joining him in his march towards a better India," the PDP leader, who served as Jammu and Kashmir's last Chief Minister prior to President's Rule, tweeted. It lost its statehood and special status under the Constitution two years later.

Rahul Gandhi will hoist the national flag in Kashmir when the Bharat Jodo Yatra arrives in Jammu, according to Congress leader and MP KC Venugopal. He also said that Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Mr Tarigami were going to join the yatra.

National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah had declared their participation before, when the yatra began.

Farooq stated that upon entering Jammu and Kashmir, the yatra would be welcomed at Lakhapur. Later, Omar Abdullah stated that the entire party would attend once party president Farooq Abdullah announced his participation.

Even though the Congress had extended invitations to the Samajwadi Party, Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal, and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, none of the major opposition parties are likely to attend in Uttar Pradesh. 

Jayant Chaudhary has already said that he will not attend the march because he has other commitments. It is also unlikely that Akhilesh Yadav, a former Congress ally who has distanced himself from the party, will attend, though it is unknown whether he will send a representative.

The Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which has travelled over 2,800 kilometres across ten states, is taking a nine-day winter break and will continue on January 3. It began on September 7 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, and will end in Kashmir early next year.