Before 2024 Polls, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘The Family Man’ Features at Bharat Jodo Yatra | In Pictures

Leaving aside the jibes and BJP versus Congress political war over ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, we decided to focus on the moments netizens loved during the 3,970 kilometre-long ‘unity walk’ covered in less than 150 days. From typing mother Sonia’s shoelaces to snowball fight with sister Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi showcased himself as ‘The Family Man’ as he tried to reach out to Indians before 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

And of course, the ‘million-dollar’ question that kept doing rounds over three months was “doesn’t Rahul feel cold?” While many of his opponents called his walk in t-shirt a gimmick, his party colleagues hailed him as a superhuman for braving the cold wave and continuing on his quest. Hence, it was obvious for Rahul to once again address the topic on the finale of the yatra.

“Four children came to me. They were beggars and had no clothes on. I hugged them. They were cold, and were shivering. May be they didn’t have food. I thought that if they’re not wearing jackets or sweaters, I too shouldn’t wear it,” the Congress leader said in Srinagar on Monday.

The Wayanad MP had earlier said that he would wear a sweater when he starts “shivering and feeling cold”. Rahul was finally spotted wearing a jacket on the laste day of the yatra when heavy snowfall forced the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, and air traffic was disrupted. Srinagar’s airport director Kuldeep Singh Rishi tweeted that low visibility and continuous snowfall had delayed all flights to Srinagar.

Vistara Airlines cancelled both its flights from Delhi to Srinagar for the day. Thus, leaving many chairs empty at the mega rally in Sher-I-Kashmir Cricket Stadium as several opposition leaders who were expected to join the event were not able to make it.

Before the mega rally, Rahul Gandhi broke into an impromptu snowball fight with his sister Priyanka. A video clip of the endearing moment shared on Twitter made netizens go ‘aww’ over the bond. A user commented, “Cutie kids playing in snow”.

The same bong was witnessed during the yatra in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress had tweeted a video of the Gandhi siblings’ laughter between hugs and kisses. With the video, the Congress used the song ‘Main Rahoon Na Tere Bina’ (‘I don’t want to live without you’) from the recent film “Raksha Bandhan” starring Akshay Kumar. The song, sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, is about the brother-sister bond.

Earlier, a photo of the Congress leader typing shoelaces of his mother, Sonia Gandhi, was widely shared on the internet. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and shared the emotional photograph, writing, “Even if mothers breathe, they pray for their children. Mothers do not break or change.”

Another photo of the Wayanad MP that went viral was with Priyanka Gandhi’s dog Luna, who walked with Rahul during the Haryana leg of the yatra. Leash in hand, Rahul Gandhi walked at his usual brisk pace while an enthusiastic Luna gambolled ahead.

In Rajasthan, Gandhi was seen interacting with about half a dozen children in the yatra, who called it a “fair”. He was also seen sipping his morning tea at a dhaba. In Tamil Nadu too, he was seen sipping tea and having biscuits while interacting with party workers.

Read all the Latest Politics News here