Sonia Gandhi

Shivakumar said Sonia Gandhi is taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on October 6 in Karnataka. "She will participate in the padayatra from wherever it begins on October 6. Former Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge will arrive in the state on October 5 and he will also take part in the padayatra on October 6," Shivakumar said.

According to sources, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are scheduled to reach Mysuru city at noon and proceed to Mandakalli airport in Mysuru by a special flight. Both the leaders would visit the Chamundeshwari hills and seek the Goddess's blessings. Later, they would leave by helicopter for hill station Kodagu where they will rest for a couple of days.

"Like a river, this yatra will flow from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Neither storm nor rain or cold weather will stall its flow... it is not about hatred. In this river, you will not come across violence or hatred, there is only love and brotherhood in it," Rahul said. The public meeting also turned into a show of unity for the party with K.C. Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala, D.K. Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah participating in the event.

"Leadership, Ideological clarity, narrative & transparent access to resources are pillars of 'A' political party, Given recent unfortunate events it's time to close ranks & strengthen @INCIndia recalling wise words of @CitiznMukherjee Y'Y& work for a Consensus & effective Presidency," Tewari said in his tweet.

Earlier, on late Thursday night, G-23 leaders including Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan met at Anand Sharma's residence but did not divulge detail of the meeting. Meanwhile, after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced on Thursday that he will not be contesting the election, political observers in Madhya Pradesh have started assuming that the route for former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh to become chief of the party seems clear to some extent.

Ashok Gehlot was supposed to leave Jaipur for Delhi on Wednesday evening but his plan was postponed and now, there are possibilities of him leaving later. They said that Congress Central Election Authority chief Madhusudan Mistry is not in Delhi on Thursday and hence candidates for presidential post can apply only on the last day of nominations, on September 30.

The two leaders will brief the Congress chief about the initiatives taken to unite the opposition parties against BJP in 2024. Nitish Kumar had met Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Arvind Kejriwal, and Sitaram Yechury on his previous Delhi visit. The meeting gains significance as opposition leaders had come together to pay tribute to former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal in Haryana.

Gehlot said, "In the meeting, Rahul Gandhi clearly said that this time only non-Gandhi will become the president. This is the final decision, the president will not be made from the Gandhi family." While talking to the media, Gehlot said that, "I had requested Rahul Gandhi after meeting him once

Nitish Kumar is currently flexing his muscles to unite opposition parties in the country. He went to Delhi for the three days and met several leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Arvind Kejriwal, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and others. As Sonia Gandhi was not present at that time, he did not meet her.

The sources said that the issue of Rajasthan in the event of Gehlot joining national politics was also discussed, but their is no official word on it yet. Gehlot is tipped to file his nomination next week for the Congress President's post; however, he is reportedly reluctant to leave the Chief Minister's chair in Rajasthan.