Rahul Gandhi interacts with children, sips tea at dhaba on first day of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan

PTI

Jhalawar, December 5

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began the Rajasthan leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Jhalawar district on Monday morning, with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot in attendance.

The 89th day of the yatra started from Kali Talai in Jhalrapatan, a rural area on the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border.

Gandhi set off the yatra at 6.10am when the temperature was 13 degrees Celsius, but he was seemingly comfortable walking in a half-sleeve T-shirt and trousers teamed with sports shoes, while the other leaders and workers were seen in jackets.

The other notable leaders who accompanied Gandhi were AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Govind Singh Dotasra, senior leader Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.

During the yatra, Gandhi interacted with about half a dozen children and waved at a large number of people who participated in the yatra who called it a "fair". He sipped his morning tea at a dhaba.

During the yatra, former MP Raghuveer Meena felt uneasiness and was taken to the district hospital in Jhalawar in an ambulance.

After covering about 14 km, the padayatra halted at Baliborda chauraha. It will resume after lunch from Nahardi area at 3.30 pm.

The Congress tweeted in Hindi asking its members and supporters not to slow down but deliver "something amazing".

"Bharat Jodo Yatra has saluted the soil of bravery, and Rajasthan, which is a land of histories, will create another history,” the party tweeted.

The yatra entered Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh on Sunday evening.

While Gehlot shared pictures on Twitter, Pilot took to the micro-blogging platform to convey that the yatra in the state started with a resolve to fulfil hopes and expectations of the youth.