Congress To Launch Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 In 84 Karnataka Constituencies
Congress plans an 84-day march across constituencies it lost in 2023.
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will launch its second phase of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on September 30, covering 84 Assembly constituencies where the Congress lost in the 2023 elections. KPCC president and MLC B.K. Hariprasad announced the programme at a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday. The 84-day padyatra will begin from Shikaripura taluk in Shivamogga district and will involve Congress leaders and workers across the state.
Hariprasad said the march would cover the remaining districts that were not part of Rahul Gandhi's 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra through Karnataka. The earlier yatra entered the state through Gundlupet on September 30, 2022, and covered around 600 km across 11 districts before completing its Karnataka leg on October 21. During that journey, Rahul Gandhi interacted with people and heard their grievances, Hariprasad recalled.
The new yatra will start from Shikaripura, a constituency associated with former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra. Hariprasad said the Congress had chosen the location to draw attention to issues it associates with the BJP and to raise awareness about concerns surrounding the Election Commission. These remarks represent the Congress leadership's stated position on the purpose of the march.
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Ministers Madhu Bangarappa, Rudrappa Lamani and Zameer Ahmed Khan, along with B.L. Shankar and other senior and district-level Congress leaders, are expected to participate in the padyatra. Hariprasad said the programme would be organised across the 84 constituencies from October 4-5 onwards, with public meetings scheduled from 1 p.m. The party has planned the exercise over 84 days, corresponding to the number of constituencies being covered.
The planned march comes amid increased political activity in Karnataka, including efforts by parties to strengthen their organisation ahead of the next Assembly election. The KPCC has also been raising concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state, while the BJP has recently conducted its own padyatra against the Congress government. The competing political activities have placed organisational outreach and electoral issues at the centre of recent activity in the state.
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