The Congress on Monday marked the fourth anniversary of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, describing the nationwide padyatra led by Rahul Gandhi as a "decisive turning point" in contemporary Indian politics that brought "new hope" and energy to the party's political fortunes. Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, marking the occasion, said the march was never intended to sermonise a "Mann ki Baat" but rather to listen to the "Janta ki Chinta" — the concerns of the people.

Taking to X, Ramesh recalled that Gandhi launched the yatra from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022, after visiting the Vivekananda Memorial, accompanied by around 120 fellow "Bharat Yatris." Over the course of 145 days, Gandhi and the marchers covered roughly 4,080 kilometres on foot, passing through 12 states and two Union Territories before the journey culminated in a rally in Srinagar. "Today is the fourth anniversary of the launch of the truly historic Bharat Jodo Yatra under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi," Ramesh wrote, calling the padyatra "a transformational event in contemporary Indian politics."

According to Ramesh, the yatra drew support and sustenance from millions of Indians who were concerned about sharpening economic inequalities, rising social polarisation and what he described as growing political authoritarianism in the country. He said the march's underlying purpose extended well beyond a conventional political campaign, framing it instead as an ideological challenge to what the Congress has repeatedly described as a "systematic RSS/BJP assault" on constitutional principles, provisions, practices and procedures. "Today we recall that decisive turning point that infused new hope, imparted new energy and inspired a new resolve," Ramesh said in his post.

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During the course of the march, Gandhi addressed 12 large public meetings, more than 100 street-corner gatherings and 13 press conferences, while also participating in over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions with citizens along the route. The yatra drew participation from a wide cross-section of Indian society, including film and television personalities such as Kamal Haasan, Pooja Bhatt, Riya Sen, Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri and Amol Palekar. Writers, economists and retired military officials also joined at various points, including former Army chief General (retd) Deepak Kapoor, former Navy chief Admiral (retd) L Ramdas, former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, and former finance secretary Arvind Mayaram.

The march also brought together several opposition leaders who walked alongside Gandhi at different stages of the journey, reflecting an early instance of the kind of opposition unity that would later coalesce more formally under the INDIA bloc. Among those who joined were National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut, and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule.

The anniversary comes as the Congress continues to invoke the yatra's legacy as a touchstone moment in its efforts to rebuild political momentum following successive electoral setbacks at the national level. Party leaders have consistently pointed to the march's scale and the breadth of its participation as evidence of a sustained public appetite for the concerns it raised, even as the Congress has faced a mixed record translating that grassroots energy into electoral gains in the years since the yatra concluded in early 2023.

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