Congress's Jan Akrosh Yatra to counter BJP's Ashirwad Yatra in MP

Bhopal: Congress is set to launch ‘Jan Akrosh Yatra’ in Madhya Pradesh in the coming week to build an anti-establishment mood among the people in the state ahead of the year-end assembly elections.

The pre-poll campaign by the party is seen as a counter to the five ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatras’ launched by BJP over four days since September three in the state.

“We are preparing the roadmap for the yatra. It will take three-four days to give the final shape to the programme. The yatra will be launched either on September 15 or September 17”, Congress spokesman K K Mishra said.

The yatra will uncover various omissions and commissions of the 18-year-rule of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, a Congress leader who is in the team of party leaders entrusted to devise the plan for the yatra, said, unwilling to be quoted.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has however pooh-poohed the Congress plan to launch ‘Jan Akrosh Yatra’, saying that the very name indicated that Congress has already sensed the mounting anger of the people against the party for the failure of the previous Kamal Nath government to fulfil the promises made by it.

“BJP has launched Jan Ashirwad Yatra to seek blessings of the people on the basis of the good works done by my government. Congress is expecting wrath of the people for the failure of the previous Kamal Nath government on all fronts and hence, the party has decided to launch Jan Akrosh Yatra to seek forgiveness of the people”, Mr Chouhan said.

State BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said that the Congress should apologise to the people for having failed to fulfil promises made by the party when it was in power in the state, during its proposed Jan Akrosh Yatra.