On Thursday, the Jagannath Rath Yatra was taken out in Ludhiana. However, devotees were surprised as two separate Jagannath Rath Yatras were organised by different organisations at different locations, covering many parts of the city.One Jagannath Rath Yatra was organised by the ISKCON Temple, while the other was taken out under the directives of Jagannath Puri Peeth.The two yatras followed different routes. The Jagannath Puri Peeth Yatra started from Chander Nagar, passed through Vrindavan Road and culminated near DMCH. The ISKCON Temple Yatra started from Mata Rani Temple near Jagraon Bridge, passed through Fountain Chowk, Ghumar Mandi and Ferozepur Road, and culminated at Durga Mata Mandir in Sarabha Nagar.Hundreds of devotees participated in both the rath yatras. This is the second time that two Rath Yatras have been held in the city. Earlier, one yatra was held in July and another during November-December. An organiser of the ISKCON Yatra said their organisation earlier held the yatra in November, but instructions issued from Puri, Odisha, directed that the yatras be organised on the same day across the country.Mamta, a homemaker, said that ideally only one yatra should be held every year, but the two organisations organise separate yatras.Along the route, langar, prasad and other food items were distributed among devotees. The heavy chariots were pulled with thick ropes by hundreds of devotees in turns. Large music systems played devotional songs and bhajans throughout the procession.Leading political leaders failed to comeUnlike previous years, no prominent leader from any political party attended the event, although the organisers had put up large posters of political leaders along the route.“Ravneet Bittu could not make it as the Prime Minister is expected to visit Punjab tomorrow and the entire cadre is busy making arrangements in Jalandhar,” said a BJP leader.A Congress leader said Raja Warring had been invited but could not participate as he was in Delhi.Similarly, an Akali leader said the SAD core committee meeting was held in Chandigarh in the afternoon, keeping the party leadership occupied.In previous years, the yatra had witnessed the presence of Chief Ministers and several ministers.The three idols carried during the yatra were Lord Jagannath, a form of Lord Krishna (Vishnu) and the central deity; Lord Balabhadra (Balarama), the elder brother of Lord Jagannath; and Goddess Subhadra, the sister of Lord Jagannath. The idols were placed on decorated chariots pulled by devotees.