Karnataka: Congress To Wrap Up Its Janaandolana With Mysuru Rally Targeting BJP-JD(S) Alliance's Padayatra

The Karnataka Congress unit is set to hold a rally of its own in Mysuru to counter the ongoing padayatra (foot march) organised by the opposition coalition partners, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) according to a report by The Indian Express.

The Mysuru rally will mark the conclusion of the ruling party’s Janaandolana, a campaign aimed at countering the Bengaluru-Mysuru march, which the Congress has dismissed as a "paapayatra by a corrupt BJP-JD(S) alliance.”

The Congress rally is strategically timed for Friday (9 August), just a day before the final leg of the opposition’s padayatra in Mysuru.

On Friday, the Congress also plans to release a "chargesheet" against the BJP-JD(S) coalition, accusing them of widespread corruption during their tenure in power.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whose allegedly corrupt reign and involvement in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam is the target of opposition's mass campaign, has been in Mysuru for the past few days, supervising preparations for the rally.

He briefly returned to Bengaluru on Thursday for pre-scheduled events before heading back to Mysuru.

In the lead-up to the rally, Siddaramaiah has sought to appease discontent within the party by meeting with Congress MLC B K Hariprasad. While Hariprasad had initially been expected to skip the Mysuru rally, he is now reportedly set to participate.

Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar addressed the media in Bengaluru, suggesting that the opposition’s march was an attempt to target a backward class leader who has become chief minister for the second time in the state.

“If there were genuine issues, the padayatra might have had some significance,” Shivakumar remarked, asserting that JD(S) workers had largely stayed away from the yatra and that it lacked public support.

He further accused the BJP of bringing in workers from other parts of the state to bolster the march's numbers.