Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', which started from South India on September 7, ended in Srinagar on January 30, after 136 days, covering a distance of 4,000 km through 14 states.

 According to the Congress party, the purpose of Rahul Gandhi's visit is to 'unify India and strengthen the country together.'

Millions of people participated in this march of Rahul Gandhi with him. Many well-known personalities also participated in the march. However, according to experts, it is still difficult to say whether this popularity will translate into votes.

 During the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', Rahul Gandhi repeatedly said that he wanted to 'open a shop of love against hate' in the country.

During this trip, in his speeches at various places and while talking to the media, Rahul Gandhi criticized the federal government and talked about the topics of unemployment, inflation and China's encroachment in Indian territory.

  Political experts also say that the purpose of this march was also to breathe life into the dying image of the Congress party.

Ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, the Congress party has suffered a major setback.

  The Bharat Jodo Yatra came to a close on Monday with a rally at a stadium in Srinagar. On this occasion, apart from Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of the Congress party, some members of the opposition parties were also present there to express their solidarity.

 On this occasion, Rahul Gandhi said that he was warned that his life was in danger by walking. The local administration had informed them that grenades may also be thrown at them.

According to Rahul Gandhi, he said that he wanted to walk. According to him, 'My family and Mahatma Gandhi have taught me to live fearlessly, otherwise living in fear is a life.'

He said that he got a lot of love in Kashmir where he ended his journey.

  At a press conference in Srinagar on Sunday, he said that he has received an overwhelmingly positive response from across the country. According to him, the purpose of this pilgrimage was also that the people of this country could hear the real voice of the people of their country.

He said, "During this trip, we got to see the passion and strength of people to persevere in the face of difficulties." We got an opportunity to listen to the problems of the farmers and the unemployed youth of the country.

In November 2022, Rahul Gandhi told the BBC's Nikhil Inamdar that he was trying to 'sow the seeds of an alternative ideology for India through this march'.

He had said that if more work is done in this direction, the ruling party BJP can be neutralized.

However, since then Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh has said several times that this march should not be seen as associated with electoral politics.

Opposition parties say it is not yet clear what role the march will play in challenging the BJP in the country's general elections next year.

Recently, Jairam Ramesh in Rajasthan had said that the purpose of Bharat Jodu Yatra is not to win elections.

Social affairs expert Shiv Vishwanathan told BBC correspondent Iqbal Ahmed that the purpose of Rahul Gandhi's march changed after the march began. In the early days he was only targeting the BJP, but as the days went by he realized that India needed a new kind of politics at this time.

Vishwanathan said 'I think Rahul Gandhi is the hero of this march. Apart from them, there was no significant difference from the Congress leaders who joined the march. This march was made special by the non-political people who joined it.

Apart from ordinary Indians and party workers, the march also included Urmila Matundkar, Swara Bhaskar, Pooja Bhatt, Rhea Sen, social activists Anand Patwardhan, Aruna Roy, Radhika Vemula, musician TM Krishna, comedian Kunal Kamra and former governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Raghuram Rajan also joined.

There are speculations that the purpose of the march is to present the Congress as a united opposition front in next year's general elections.

But opposition parties told the BBC it was not yet clear what the march meant in Congress' fight against the BJP.

It will largely depend on how the Congress performs in the state elections. For example in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the Congress is in direct competition with the BJP.

Senior journalist Sumita Gupta told the BBC: 'Rahul Gandhi has proved that he needs to be taken seriously, but I don't think he can be presented as the main opposition leader yet. '

Vishwanathan says that the Congress party has repeatedly failed to live up to expectations in the past and there is a danger that it may revert to its old ways.

He said that if Rahul Gandhi wants to do politics with civil society, he will have to bring a new type of change in the Congress party and we can get a new political party of the future. The public can help them in this and if it happens, it will be a miracle.