Rahul Gandhi at a Guru Nanak Jayanti event during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded on Tuesday.

Rahul prayed at a gurdwara before resuming the Yatra, which entered its 62nd day.

The Yatra had crossed into Maharashtra from Telangana on Monday night. On Tuesday, a Congress Seva Dal functionary died after collapsing during the Yatra. Rahul expressed grief over the death of Seva Dal general secretary Krishna Kumar Pandey. He said Pandey held the national flag till the very last moment.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Pandey was holding the Tricolour and walking with him and party veteran Digvijaya Singh.

“After a few minutes, as is the practice, he handed the flag to a colleague and moved back. Thereafter he collapsed and was taken in an ambulance to a hospital where most sadly he was declared dead,” Ramesh tweeted.

“He was a staunch Congressman and used to take on the RSS in Nagpur. It is a most humbling moment for all the Yatris,” Ramesh added.

“The Yatris, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and @RahulGandhi paid last respects to Krishna Kumar Pandey this afternoon at the Yatra halt site in Atkali village in Nanded district,” Ramesh said in another tweet