Election Results 2024: How Congress performed on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatras’ routes

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s two mega ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatras – held as a voter outreach program – proved to be a success as the grand old party and the INDIA bloc allies managed to win 41 seats along their routes.

Gandhi held the first ‘Bharat Jodo’ Yatra from September 2022 to January 2023 – starting from Kanyakumari and ending in Kashmir, and passing through 71 Lok Sabha constituencies. The second ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay’ Yatra began on January 14 2024, in Manipur’s Thoubal district and concluded in Mumbai on March 16, 2024. The rally covered a distance of 6,713 km, straddling 100 Lok Sabha constituencies, 337 assembly segments and covering 110 districts.

Let’s take a look at how Congress and its allies performed in some of the key states on the routes of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatras’:

Uttar Pradesh

The ‘Bharat Jodo’ rallies passed through over 20 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. This time, the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) ended their deadlock over seat sharing in Uttar Pradesh and formed an alliance. Following this, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had also joined Gandhi during the Uttar Pradesh leg of the Yatra in Agra on February 25 this year.

While the Congress won three seats from the routes of the rallies, the SP bagged six seats.

Delhi

The Congress or its allies did not bag any seats in Delhi as well, which was covered during the first Congress rally. The grand old party contested two out of the five seats that the rally passed through, and the AAP contested the remaining three. However, the BJP won all five seats.

Maharashtra

The Congress, along with its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in the state, won nine seats from the areas where the rallies passed.

During the second ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay’ rally, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, veteran Congress leader KC Venugopal, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, Mumbai party chief Bhai Jagtap, Naseem Khan, Vishwajit Kadam, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Supriya Sule and Jitendra Awhad had joined Gandhi.

Northeastern states

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra began in Manipur on January 14 – the key state following the massive violence, and passed through Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland across 11 constituencies. The grand old party won six seats.

Bihar

Rahul Gandhi’s second yatra, which passed through Bihar, touched seven constituencies in the state. Out of these, the Congress contested on three seats and won them all. Meanwhile, its opposition allies won two seats.

Haryana

The Congress won one of the five seats from which its rally passed, while the BJP bagged the rest of the seats.

Jammu and Kashmir

The Congress covered four seats during its first rally in Jammu and Kashmir – out of which the party’s ally, National Conference (NC), won two seats. The alliance lost the remaining two seats.

Karnataka

The Congress covered seven seats in Karnataka during its first ‘Bharat Jodo’ rally. Out of these, the grand old party won three seats, while its ally JD(S) bagged one seat.

Kerala

The Congress won seven seats out of the 11 constituencies it travelled to through the mega rally.

Madhya Pradesh

The grand old party did not manage to win any seats in the state, as the BJP bagged all the seats.

Punjab

The Congress had covered six seats in Punjab during the ‘Bharat Jodo’ Yatra. Out of these, the Congress won five seats, while its opposition ally AAP won one seat.

Rajasthan

After the party’s mega rallies, which covered seven constituencies in Rajasthan, the party won four seats in the state.

Tamil Nadu

The Congress won one of the two seats the ‘Bharat Jodo’ Yatra covered in Tamil Nadu, while its ally DMK bagged the other.

Telangana

The Congress won just one of the seven constituencies it passed through in Telangana.

Andhra Pradesh

Congress contested on two seats from Andhra Pradesh, where the first ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ was held. However, the party failed to win both seats.

Gujarat

The Congress had travelled through five constituencies in Guajrat, but did not manage to win any. All the seats were won by the BJP.

West Bengal

The Congress covered nine seats in West Bengal during its ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay’ Yatra. Out of these, the grand old party managed to win only one seat. However, its INDIA bloc ally, TMC, won five seats.

Jharkhand

The grand old party contested on four out of the seven seats covered in the Bharat Jodo rally – out of which it managed to win only one seat.

Chhattisgarh

Out of the four constituencies covered in the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay’ Yatra in Chhattisgarh, the Congress won only one seat.

Lok Sabha election result

The BJP, which was seeking a third consecutive term in office and a third straight single-party majority, won 240 seats in the Lok Sabha election, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). However, NDA’s overall tally stood at 293. Now, the ruling party is relying on the support of its NDA allies to form a government at the Centre. On the other hand, the Congress won 99 seats in the general election, as per the ECI—its best performance since 2009. The opposition alliance—the INDIA bloc—has a tally of 234 seats.