As videos of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joining children playing football on the street, helping a girl wear her sandals or energetically rowing a snake boat in the Kerala leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra have gone viral, the Karnataka Congress unit is planning thematically arranged interactions with the civil society for him. The 170 km-long Mekedatu Congress padayatra in Karnataka in two laps early this year, is coming in handy for the party, as it gets set for the 22-day walk led by Rahul from Chamarajanagar to Raichur starting from September 30. This being an election preparation year for all parties in Karnataka, the Congress in its bid to return to power is determined to mine Rahul's presence and the yatra during the 22 days.

Rahul will spend Gandhi Jayanthi day at the Khadi Gramodyog Kendra in Badanavalu in Nanjangud taluk of Mysuru district. The Kendra is significant as it was started by Mahatma Gandhi at the behest of his follower Tagadur Ramachandra Rao. Mahatma Gandhi visited the centre in 1927 and in 1932 by which time the unit was in full production mode. During the visit to the Kendra, Rahul is likely to try his hand at the looms and do shramadan by participating in cleaning a village. He will be spending the entire day at the Kendra.

With the Congress trying to position the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a platform to connect with the people rather than make it a party event, the response from civil society and like-minded people in Karnataka is reported to be overwhelming. According to former IAS officer S Sasikanth Senthil, who is on the panel to identify people from the civil society, 89 organisations have expressed support to the yatra at a meeting held in Bengaluru on September 20. Senthil said around 100 people had expressed support to walk in the yatra. “Rahul will be interacting with the civil society representatives during the breaks, and the meetings have been thematically arranged such as interactions with the Soliga tribals in Gundlupet, families of the victims who died due to lack of oxygen in a government hospital in Chamarajanagar, unemployed youth in Nagamangala, small-scale entrepreneurs and commercial crop growers in Sira, women activists, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MGNREGA) workers in Chitradurga and others.

Noted writer Devanooru Mahadeva, whose recent book takes a critical look on the RSS ideology, has taken the initiative to organise a meeting of like-minded people with Rahul in Mysuru. Mahadeva had attended the meeting convened by Rahul of civil society members in August in New Delhi. Congress functionaries VR Sudarshan and SR Mehroz Khan, who are on the civil society committee, said some had committed to accompany Rahul on the entire route in Karnataka. Mehroz Khan said cultural activist Ganesh Devy and political activist Yogendra Yadav along with Mahadeva were in the forefront of the civil society members' participation. The route covering Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Mandya, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Ballari and Raichur districts has been chalked, as Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district borders Kerala and Raichur will be the exit point from where he will enter Telangana. There are plans to undertake a similar yatra from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh next year, Sudarshan said.

A retired professor of the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru, TN Prakash Kammardi, who has brought around 100 organisations under the banner Samajavadi Vedike for the Bharat Jodo Yatra, said he was associating with the yatra, as the issues confronting the country should also be tackled by civil society and not by a political party alone. As a result of the September 20 meeting, all the 100 organisations have been brought under one umbrella titled ‘Bharat Jodisuva Yatreendige Bhavaikya Karnataka’ (Integration of Karnataka through Bharat Jodo Yatra) to enrol for the yatra in the state. Rahul will interact with one organisation or the other every day, depending on the district he is in, on that particular day. In Chitradurga, he will interact with a transgender group; in Mandya district, he will meet with farmers' organisations in Nagamangala where there is considerable migration to cities, Kammardi said.

While many do not prefer to actively associate with the yatra, some have been working behind the scenes to underscore the point on why support of civil society is essential in present times. Narayan A, Professor of Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University, gave a talk to members of civil society on whether there is a case for the civil society to support activities like the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Narayan said there is a strong case for civil society to involve itself in such events. He said, “It means reclaiming your right to fight, which has become necessary with many being jailed for raising their voices.” According to him, more than a political party taking up such initiatives, the civil society should have come forward and when someone has taken the lead, the gesture should be to support it. “It does not mean that one is supporting the party which takes the lead as much as it is claiming our rights and existence in a secular atmosphere,” he added.

As like-minded members gear up for the event, the committee in charge of accommodation is scouting for kalyan mantaps, mathas, hotels and houses of party workers to accommodate the yatris. Former Congress MLA Santosh S Lad said accommodation was not easy to come by, but the response from party workers to accommodate them in their houses has been very good. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to participate in the yatra and the dates are yet to be finalised. According to Congress’s tentative schedule, Sonia is expected to arrive when the yatra enters Karnataka on September 30 or attend a public meeting in Ballari, while Priyanka is scheduled to interact with women at Nagamangala in Mandya district.