Congress kickstarts Praja Dhwani Yatra covering northern and southern regions of K'taka

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state Congress President D K Shivakumar on Friday embarked on separate bus tours as part of party’s ‘Praja Dhwani Yatra’ ahead of the Assembly elections, which is about three months away.

The team headed by Siddaramaiah will tour Assembly constituencies in north Karnataka region while Shivakumar will cover the southern districts.

The Siddaramaiah-led team comprising 35 leaders started from Basavakalyan in Bidar district. He will visit ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ to pay respects to the statue of 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara before addressing a public meeting there.

The state Congress chief’s poll campaign started from Mulbagal in Kolar district after paying homage at the ancient Ganapati temple in Kudumalai.

He later tweeted, ”Worshipped Maha Ganapati’s Saligram statue at Kudumalai in Mulbagal. I prayed that the Praja Dhwani Yatra should go on without any hassle in Kolar district.” Earlier, Shivakumar’s convoy arrived to a rousing welcome at K R Puram in the East Bengaluru as a large number of party workers thronged to garland him and others in the bus.

Later, sharing a video, Shivakumar tweeted, ”A glimpse of people’s trust in Congress Party’s vision- this is how KR Puram welcomed us with inexplicable enthusiasm and love.” Shivakumar will be undertaking his bus yatra between February 3 and 9, heading a team of 54 party leaders.