Congressmen plan State-wide bus tour ahead of K'taka Assembly polls

Bengaluru: Amid buzz that Karnataka Congress leaders are planning a State-wide bus tour ahead of Assembly polls next year, party president D K Shivakumar on Tuesday gave an indication in this regard by stating that the next plan of action is for taking forward the momentum of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ at the State-level.

He said he would get a report on party leaders and office-bearers who did not actively participate in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra.

There are reports that the KPCC chief is miffed at a section of party leaders for not actively participating in the yatra and is likely to submit a report to the high command in this regard.

“We can’t leave it (the momentum of Bharat Jodo Yatra) here. Also at the KPCC level, how to take it forward until the yatra ends (in Kashmir) is being thought about, the senior leaders will soon be discussing this,” Shivakumar told reporters here.

There has been a round of discussion with Rahul Gandhi at Raichur, he said. “The next plan of action for Karnataka is by intertwining the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Karnataka politics for the development of the State,” he said.

According to party sources, the bus yatra would be similar to ‘Panchajanya Yatra’ undertaken in 1999 by the KPCC under the leadership of its then president S M Krishna, which led the Congress to victory in the Assembly election that year.

They said the bus yatra was likely to be in two separate teams headed by Shivakumar and Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah.

Both leaders share Chief Ministerial ambitions and were into a game of political one-upmanship.

State party leaders would be in New Delhi on Wednesday, and were likely to discuss and finalise on this tour plan.

Speaking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra last week, Shivakumar said a committee would be constituted under the chairmanship of KPCC working president Dhruvanarayan to study the effect or impact of the yatra along the places it passed through in the State and other places.

He said the party also plans to include the opinions that were expressed by citizens and those that were highlighted by Rahul Gandhi along the yatra in the Congress’s manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Responding to a question on reports that he did not get adequate cooperation from other State Congress leaders in organising the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the State, Shivakumar said, “This yatra was because of cooperation from everyone, everyone has put in effort according to their capacity…as I’m the president, there was extra responsibility on me. We have gone by a collective leadership.” He, however, said he would seek a report from general secretaries, in-charge secretaries of the party on who did what. “We already have reports ready, I will get them.” Recalling Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with common people, women, youth, students, and children during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the State, Shivakumar said his (Rahul Gandhi’s) goal and determination were visible throughout the yatra.

To keep record of the yatra for the future, there are plans to organise photo exhibitions in the days to come, he added.