The Karnataka leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra started off today at with a public event at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagara.

In Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi will walk for 22 days and cover a total of 511 kms. This is the first time so far that the yatra has entered a BJP-ruled state.

In Karnataka, the yatra will cover seven districts of Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Mandya, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Bellari and Raichur.

The optics of the event in Gundlupet, however, once again reflected the desperate attempts by the party’s central leadership to keep the fractured factions together—a repeat of the ’unifying‘ act at Siddharamaiah’s birthday bash a few weeks ago.

What happened on the stage

Marking the event, Rahul Gandhi, flanked by KPCC chief D K Shivakumar and Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah were to play a drum each that was placed before them.

Siddaramaiah had his act together and was engrossed in literally beating his own drum. Shivakumar meanwhile moved his instrument closer to that of Gandhi and both of them started hitting the sticks on to them, with Shivakumar’s drum rolling off.

After this ceremonial performance, the media asked for an encore for photo-ops. Though Rahul Gandhi wished to oblige, the other two seemed to politely decline.

Eventually however, Rahul headed back to the drum and as Shivakumar picked a stick for himself, Rahul got him to drop it and instead placed one stick each in the hands of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, and got them to beat his own drum, quite literally.