As Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra travelled through north Manipur towards Nagaland Monday, the tensions left by the eight-month-long ethnic conflict between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribals in the state stared it in the face.

The yatra, which began from Sekmai on the outskirts of Imphal on Monday morning, passed through the volatile Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and Naga-dominated Senapati to reach Nagaland on Monday evening, halting at village Khuzama for the night.

Along the way, occasional graffiti on walls sought a separate administration for Kukis, odd posters welcomed “Rahuji” to “Kukiland” as the yatra passed through Kangpokpi, while heavy security was a constant. At one place, an enthusiastic group of boys, mostly in their teens, waving national flags, added a third slogan after the customary ‘Long live Rahul Gandhi’ and ‘Congress zindabad’. “We want separate administration,” they chanted.

People from the Kuki-Zo community welcomed Rahul with the traditional “Salulap Dance”.

In his brief speeches at short halts, some of those standing atop his custom made Volvo bus, Rahul repeated his call for restoration of peace and giving Manipur a healing touch.

At Senapati, he said: “We decided that the most powerful thing would be to start the yatra from Manipur so that the people of India could get a sense of what the people of Manipur have been through, the difficulty that they have been through and the struggles they have been through… I understand that you have faced a tragedy, you have lost family members, you have lost property. And I want you to know that we are fully standing with you. We want to bring peace back to Manipur. We want to make Manipur peaceful and harmonious again.”

Notably though, both Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra Singh and CLP leader and former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh – both Meiteis – had dropped out by the time Rahul’s bus entered Kangpokpi from Imphal West. On Monday morning, Meghachandra Singh had hoisted the Tricolour at the yatra campsite, before it began its second day journey.

The enthusiasm of the crowds though was evident at many places, with Congress workers and women and children lining up on both sides of the road in town areas cheering Rahul.

Naga and Kuki dancers welcoming him in their traditional attire added to the colour and enthusiasm. On several occasions, Rahul came out of the bus, and walked for some distance meeting people in Senapati. There was the mandatory roadside tea shop pit stop as well.

Congress leaders claimed that representatives of civil society organisations which met him urged him to demand in Parliament that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit the violence-hit state before the Lok Sabha elections.

The organisations, which met Rahul separately, also said Manipur needs “sensitive, transparent, accountable and strong” governance, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. “Earlier, when we used to come to Manipur, we used to meet Manipuri organisations but now we are meeting community organisations. That is the difference. All of them are demanding peace,” Ramesh said. Taking a swipe at the ethnic strife dividing the BJP-led Manipur government as well, he claimed that two state ministers are “missing” and working “online”.

Sources said a delegation of members of the Kuki Women Organization for Human Rights travelled with Rahul on his bus for some time, telling him about the current situation. A delegation of the Kuki Inpi Sadar Hills also met him and submitted a memorandum, telling him about the hardships faced by them, including the lack of access to hospitals and colleges in Imphal.

Kuki bodies have been heavily critical of the N Biren Singh government’s handling of the violence in the state.

By late Monday evening, the yatra had entered Nagaland. Ramesh said a delegation of the Naga HOHO representing Naga organisations from different states had met Rahul in the evening at the yatra campsite at Khuzama, and handed over a memorandum on “the non-implementation” of the Framework Agreement signed by the government of India and the NSCN(I-M) on August 3, 2015.

The Congress, which has questioned the government claims regarding the agreement, said “it remains a piece of paper even after almost nine years”.

The yatra will pass through five districts of Nagaland, over Tuesday and Wednesday, before entering Assam.