In a major offensive against the ruling Congress led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, ahead of Assembly polls which is crucial for both the Congress and the BJP, the saffron party will take a major campaign trail covering entire State. The BJP State president and lingayat strongman BS Yeddyurappa who has been projected as the chief ministerial face of the party will kick-start his 75-day Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivarthan Yatra (campaign for State’s total transformation) from November 2.
Party national president and strategist Amit Shah will launch this campaign trail and would also guide the party in the ensuing elections. Amit Shah was in Bengaluru a few months back and held discussions with the State leaders in the warring party. It also brought a semblance in the dissidence stricken party.
“BJP is determined to free people of Karnataka from corruption, bad governance, radicalisation which are the hallmark of the Congress dispensation headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
This Parivarthan Yatra is aimed at the removal of Congress, lock, stock and barrel in order to make Karnataka Congress-mukt and formation of BJP Government headed by Yeddyurappa," BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge, Muralidhar Rao, said on Sunday.
A BJP press release said “in order to ensure that the Yatra gains dynamism, momentum and get a new fillip, the BJP has planned the participation of a galaxy of central leaders including Union Ministers at various places as the Yatra is going to criss-cross the length and breadth of the State thereby
covering all the 224 Assembly constituencies.
The assembly polls are crucial for both the parties and ruling party led by Siddaramaiah is fighting a decisive battle to regain power to keep its national identity. Siddaramaiah who is playing appeasement politics to hilt is facing anti-incumbency and bogged down by internal dissent.
“BJP challenges Siddaramaiah and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to take part in a public debate. It is no more in TV studios but on the streets of Karnataka,” the BJP general secretary added.
"The sheer mobilisation of lakhs of youths is something historic and extra-ordinary never seen or heard in the political history of Karnataka," Rao added.
When it was pointed out that the BJP’s bike rally to Mangalore failed as the Congress Government imposed ban and if he apprehends something similar during the November 2 event, Muralidhar Rao said, “I do not agree that the bike rally to Mangalore failed. In fact, it was a great success as thousands of workers took out a rally in spite of the ban. I don’t think the Government will venture to do any sort of mis-adventure now. If, for any reason, the Government bans bikes arriving at BIEC, then BJP will think that it is a grand success.”