Bengaluru, Sep 28 (IANS): The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will launch ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0’ in the state on September 30, covering 84 Assembly constituencies where the Congress lost in the previous election, KPCC President and MLC B.K. Hariprasad said.
Addressing a press conference at the Indira Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru, Hariprasad recalled that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had launched the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022. The yatra entered Karnataka through Gundlupet on September 30 and covered 600 km across 11 districts until October 21, during which Rahul Gandhi interacted with people and heard their grievances.
“After Mahatma Gandhi’s padayatra, Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was one of the longest padayatras,” Hariprasad said.
He said the second phase of the yatra would cover the remaining 29 districts of Karnataka, excluding the 11 districts covered by Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
The yatra will begin from Shikaripura taluk in Shivamogga district on September 30. Ministers Madhu Bangarappa, Rudrappa Lamani and Zameer Ahmed Khan, along with B.L. Shankar and other senior leaders and district-level Congress leaders, will participate in the padyatra.
The programme will be held in all Assembly constituencies from October 4-5 onwards, Hariprasad said, adding that the party had decided to conduct the padyatra for 84 days across the 84 constituencies.
Asked why Shikaripura had been chosen as the starting point, Hariprasad said the party wanted to highlight what he described as the BJP’s shortcomings from the constituency of the BJP state president and create awareness among people about what he alleged was damage being caused to the Election Commission, a constitutional institution.
“From the BJP state president’s constituency, we will highlight the BJP’s shortcomings and create awareness among people about the damage being caused to the Election Commission, a constitutional institution,” he said.
Hariprasad said public meetings would be held from 1 p.m. onwards during the yatra.
Former MLC Narayanaswamy and KPCC Media and Communications Department head Ramesh Babu were also present at the press conference.
