Karnataka Congress Embark on 10-day Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0
The Congress party aims to penetrate into Karnataka's RSS Heartland, and make a inroads in BJP bastions with the program
Shivamogga: Congress on Wednesday launched the 10-day Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 in Karnataka to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the yatra, the foot march undertaken by party leader Rahul Gandhi from Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Congress state president B K Hariprasad, Gandhi entered Karnataka on September 30 as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.
The party decided to commemorate the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 in 84 Assembly constituencies where it lost in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Congress launched the campaign from the BJP bastion Shikaripura, the Assembly segment represented by Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra.
Prior to Vijayendra, his father and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa represented Shikaripura constituency in Shivamogga district.
The Karnataka Congress has drawn up this strategy as part of its "Mission 2028", aimed at winning the 2028 Assembly elections in all the 84 constituencies which it had lost in the 2023 election.
The Congress is preparing to hold a 10-km padayatra (foot march) in each constituency.
Ahead of the padayatra, Hariprasad told reporters that Gandhi entered Karnataka at Gudlupet as part of Bharat Jodo Yatra.
"To commemorate that occasion, we have decided to launch a 'Janata Jodo' (Uniting people) and 'Janata Jagruti' (public awareness yatra) across Karnataka from Esuru village," he said.
Speaking about Esuru village, Hariprasad said that in 1942, following Mahatma Gandhi's call to the British to 'Quit India', the villagers declared independence from the British and announced that they would not pay taxes under any circumstances.
Around five freedom fighters who were at the forefront of that struggle were hanged by the British in 1943, he added.
"We have decided to launch the Janata Jagruti yatra in Karnataka from this sacred place. To commemorate the Bharat Jodo Yatra, we are beginning this Janata Jodo awareness yatra from Esuru village, paying homage to the five freedom fighters who were martyred and from this sacred place where around 68 people were imprisoned," the Congress leader said.
"The Congress will organise a 10-kilometre padayatra from Shikaripura and create public awareness against the deletion of the names of around one crore people from the electoral rolls in the state," Hariprasad said.
The Congress state chief explained that the party will also create public awareness against the conspiracy of BJP and the RSS against the Constitution.
"The basic objective is to create awareness about the attempt being made by the BJP to delete names from the electoral rolls who have stood with all of us in Karnataka, thereby striking at the very foundation of democracy," he alleged.
The Congress state chief launched the campaign from Esuru after hoisting the Indian tricolour. He also called upon people to join this campaign.
"We have started this as the Janata Jodo Jagruti Yatra. The reason is that the BJP state president's constituency has often been used for politics, and in Karnataka, the names of around 1.5 crore voters have been left out of the electoral rolls," he said in a brief speech.
"We have started this yatra. All of us must extend our cooperation and take this yatra forward," he said.
Karnataka ministers Yathindra Siddaramaiah and K S Basavanthappa; All India Congress Committee secretary Gopinath Pandiyappa, Congress state working president Manjunath Bhandary, former Lok Sabha member Chandrappa and Legislative Council member Bilkis Banu joined Hariprasad to launch the yatra.
