Amidst the Opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) touring the State with Praja Dhwani and Pancharatna yatras, the BJP has decided to take out four simultaneous yatras across the State as part of the campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls. The four yatras will be led by four groups of leaders in a bid to project collective leadership, party sources said.
The decision was taken by the party that met for a brainstorming session at the special meeting of the State executive in the city on Saturday. The yatras will start from Male Mahadeshwara Hills, Chamarajanagar in district, Bengaluru city, Sangolli Rayanna’s birthplace Nandagad in Belagavi district, and Basavakalyan in Bidar district, after the conclusion of the Budget session, N. Ravikumar, general secretary, BJP, Karnataka said. These yatras will tour all the 224 Assembly constituencies, he added.
Yediyurappa’s role
Even as former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has publicly expressed willingness to tour the entire State ahead of elections; factions within the party have been wary of letting him lead the campaign. The former Chief Minister has been unhappy about attempts by factions within the State unit trying to sideline him, including at the series of Jana Spandana rallies.
However, as he continues to be the tallest mass leader in the State unit of the party, several incumbent MLAs and aspirants for tickets who have already begun working in their constituencies have been demanding that Mr. Yediyurappa campaign for them, sources said. However, Mr. Yediyurappa has not been independently touring the State yet, waiting for a clearance from the high command, sources said.
The four simultaneous yatras, each team consisting of several leaders, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, State president Nalin Kumar Kateel, and Mr. Yediyurappa, is seen as an attempt to prevent Mr. Yediyurappa from dominating the campaign. “Now that Mr. Yediyurappa has retired from electoral politics, the party cannot continue to depend on him alone. Strategically too, he becoming the face of the campaign when he will not even be contesting for assembly does not augur well for the party,” a senior leader said.
This comes amidst buzz that the party high command is keen to utilise Mr. Yediyurappa’s connect with the masses and is toying with the idea of giving him a formal role in the campaign for the polls.
