The Gujarat Congress unveiled plans for a week-long 'Khedut Aakrosh Yatra' on October 31, 2025, to spotlight farmers' distress amid unseasonal rains and mounting loan burdens, strategically timed to coincide with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 150th birth anniversary on November 1. Announced by state party chief Amit Chavda during a gathering in Ahmedabad, the foot march will span from Somnath to Dwarka, covering 10 rain-hit districts in the Saurashtra region, and run from November 6 to 13, aiming to rally affected farmers and press the BJP-led government for immediate relief measures, including farm loan waivers and a dedicated compensation package. This initiative builds on Congress's broader narrative of defending Patel's legacy, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of systematically erasing the Iron Man's contributions to elevate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image, particularly through the 2021 renaming of the iconic Motera stadium—now Narendra Modi Stadium—from its original Sardar Patel moniker.
Chavda's address framed the yatra as a direct invocation of Patel's historical role as a farmers' champion, recalling how the freedom fighter earned his 'Sardar' title leading the Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928 against British tax hikes on Gujarat's agrarian communities, a movement that unified peasants and solidified his stature in the independence struggle. Linking this past to present woes, Chavda highlighted how recent unseasonal showers in Saurashtra have devastated crops like groundnut and cotton, exacerbating debts in a state where over 50% of the workforce depends on agriculture, yet government aid has lagged despite repeated appeals. Preceding the main yatra, Congress will stage dharna protests at every taluka headquarters from November 1 to 5, with delegations marching to Mamlatdar offices to submit detailed memoranda on demands such as enhanced insurance payouts and subsidised seeds. On November 6, party workers plan to symbolically "encircle" district collectors' offices to hand over fresh petitions, intensifying grassroots mobilisation ahead of the march's launch.
The announcement amplified Congress's pointed critique of the BJP's handling of Patel's heritage, with Chavda decrying the stadium renaming as a "deliberate distortion" that dishonours the man who integrated over 560 princely states into independent India and championed secular unity against communal forces. To mark the anniversary, Congress will organise a separate padyatra from Ramnagar Chowk to the Motera Stadium, where participants will voice condemnation of these perceived slights and pass a symbolic resolution pledging to revert the venue's name to Sardar Patel Stadium by 2028 upon regaining power. Chavda drew stark parallels between Patel's 1948 efforts to ban the RSS following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination—citing its "divisive ideology" as antithetical to national cohesion—and its current influence in Gujarat's governance, positioning the party as the true custodian of Patel's inclusive vision amid what he called an era of "arrogance and injustice".
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As Gujarat navigates a politically charged anniversary year, the Khedut Aakrosh Yatra underscores Congress's dual strategy of agrarian advocacy and cultural reclamation, potentially galvanising rural voters in a state long dominated by the BJP since 1995. By intertwining Patel's farmer-centric ethos with contemporary crises—where official data shows farmer suicides rising 15% in the past year due to climate variability and credit traps—the campaign seeks to reclaim narrative space in upcoming local polls. Chavda reaffirmed the party's commitment to amplifying voices of farmers, youth, and the marginalised, vowing a relentless fight against systemic inequities. This mobilisation not only honours Patel's November 1 birthday but also tests the opposition's ability to translate historical reverence into electoral momentum, keeping the spotlight on Gujarat's unresolved rural challenges.
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