Mumbai: From allegedly sabotaging their own candidates in the legislative council elections to not turning up on time for the no-confidence motion against the newly-formed Eknath Shinde government in June this year, the Congress party has shown several signs of severe disintegration in Maharashtra. And so the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra that started two months ago and entered Maharashtra a week ago, party leaders say, has come at a time when the political equation needed a deliberate push to stay cohesive and keep party workers motivated.The two-week long walk in the state, that ends on November 21, before entering Rajasthan, has succeeded in not only bringing many warring leaders together, but has also garnered strong support from Congress’s allies – the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena.The Yatra started from Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, and in the next 69 days, it covered 28 districts across six states. The Yatra entered Maharashtra from Deglur, a municipal council in Nanded district, on November 7 and since has covered Nanded and Hingoli districts before entering Washim on November 14.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with elderly supporters during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Hingoli district, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Photo: PTINanded, which strategically connects Maharashtra on the eastern end with the neighbouring Telangana state, is also one of the districts the Congress continues to have a strong grip over. It is the home turf of former chief minister and party heavyweight Ashok Chavan. As was anticipated, Gandhi’s walk across the district garnered full party support and the roadshow attracted thousands of youth party workers, activists, students and others. Chavan’s complete participation, and more importantly using the Yatra as an opportunity to introduce his daughter Shreejaya as his political heir, sent out an affirmative sign that he is willing to forget political differences, many in the party shared with The Wire.Chavan reportedly had issues with the growing clout of another party heavyweight Nana Patole, who was once with the Bharatiya Janata Party and had joined the Congress in 2018. Patole, a Kunbi leader from Vidarbha region, has since risen in the ranks and is currently the Congress party’s state president.Both Chavan and Patole have rubbished speculation about Chavan’s displeasure and the idea that he had contemplated his exit from the party at one point, but party sources say Chavan has been vocal about his stand within the party. Chavan allegedly delayed his entry to the no-confidence vote against the Shinde government in July; he was one of the 11 Congress MLAs who were missing. Chavan had later attributed his absence to Mumbai traffic.Among other Congress leaders who joined the Yatra were Balasaheb Thorat, Prithviraj Chavan and Sushil Kumar Shinde.Senior party leader and Maharashtra’s former energy minister Nitin Raut was injured during the Yatra in Hyderabad after he was allegedly pushed by the police. Raut, who suffered severe eye and head injuries, had to be hospitalised. His son, Kunal Raut, a Youth Congress president, filled in for his father.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with supporters during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Hingoli district, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Photo: PTIOver the past decade, the Congress has been decimated in the state. But the surprise and rather unusual Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combination in the state gave the party an added impetus. Although the party has the smallest share – with 44 MLAs – it was given several vital berths in the state legislature. In July, when the Shinde faction made a jump towards the BJP, the Congress too had feared losing its MLAs in the bargain. AICC observer Kamal Nath was sent for fire-fighting in Mumbai, where he had claimed to have met most MLAs and held the party tight.The NCP and Uddhav Thackeray’s faction too have extended their full support to Gandhi’s Yatra. NCP chief Sharad Pawar did not join owing to his failing health but his daughter and Member of Parliament Supriya Sule was at the long walk as a party representative. State NCP chief Jayant Patil and party leader and former minister Jitendra Awhad also joined Gandhi after he resumed his foot march from Deglur Naka in Nanded last week. The NCP and Congress have been in alliance and in power from 1999 to 2014 in the state. The parties have had their share of differences from time to time, but have mostly stuck together. Sena was a new addition into the equation in late 2019 and the new alliance was called MahaVikas Aghadi, which held reign in the state until June this year.Shinde defected from the Shiv Sena claiming differences over Thackeray’s decision to form an alliance with the Congress and NCP. Although several of Thackeray’s trusted leaders have jumped ship, he has continued his support for the Congress and NCP. At the Yatra, his son and former minister Aditya Thackeray walked with Gandhi for around seven kilometres from the Nanded-Hingoli border to Bhategaon in Hingoli district. Thackeray’s presence at the Yatra is politically significant considering the upcoming contentious Mumbai corporation elections, leaders in both the Congress and Thackeray-led Sena said.