Donning a white t-shirt, Rahul Gandhi’s look-alike Faisal Chaudhary has become an attraction of the Bharat Jodo Yatra with people eager to get themselves clicked with him.
Faisal, who is a hit on social media, said people who are unable to meet Mr. Gandhi take pictures with him instead.
‘People love Rahul ji’
Faisal is the most ‘clicked’ man after Mr. Gandhi in Bharat Jodo Yatra which is in its last leg. His video clips and pictures have gone viral on social media where he can be seen marching along with other yatris.
“People come to me and take pictures and videos with me. I love it,” said Faisal, who joined the yatra on January 5 from Baghpat at Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border.
He said that it is people’s love for Rahul Gandhi that they take pictures with him. “People love Rahul Ji. That is why they take pictures and videos with me, when they are unable to meet Rahul Ji,” he said.
“I feel lucky to be Rahul ji’s look-alike. As a party activist, my face resembles my top party leader’s. But I will always be his activist,” he added.
Faisal, who has a brown beard like Mr. Gandhi, is a resident of Sangat village of Meerat district and is a worker of the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh.
Unlike hundreds of yatris wearing jackets and sweaters, Faisal wore a white half-sleeved T-shirt like Mr. Gandhi.
“If Rahul ji can wear a T-shirt, why can’t anyone else? I am wearing it. I have no problem,” he said.
Yatra will bring ‘new dawn’
Tearing into the remarks of the BJP that the yatra will not get support from the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Faisal said, “People of J&K have wholeheartedly given love to Rahul Ji and support to this yatra. Thousands of people are out and throng the venues. We thank them.”
Faisal opined that Mr. Gandhi will dismantle the walls of hatred and bring in a new atmosphere of love and harmony. “This yatra will be 100% successful. There will be a new dawn.”
Octagenarian takes part in the yatra
Another prominent supporter of the yatra is 88-year-old Karuna Prasad Mishra, who joined it in October last year in Madhya Pradesh. He is an old warhorse of the Congress party and will continue to be part of the yatra.
Earlier, Mr. Gandhi had acknowledged Mishra’s appeal by solicitously putting a shawl around him during a concert in Jaipur to mark 100 days of the yatra on December 16.
The party has also put out several Twitter posts centred around Mr. Mishra.
“There is a need to bring back an atmosphere of harmony and brotherhood in the country. we pray for Rahul ji successful mission,” Mishra said.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra is slated to end on January 30 in Srinagar.