New Delhi (IANS) | Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra last year passed through 20 assembly constituencies in Karnataka, out of which 15 seats were won by the party’s candidates on Saturday.
The country’s oldest party is all set for a historic victory with 136 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 last year, entered Karnataka via Kerala on September 30.
The yatra was held in two phases from September 30 to October 19 in Karnataka and covered a distance of 511 kilometers in seven districts of the state.
Rahul Gandhi traveled over 500 km in Karnataka after entering Gundlupet along with several party leaders and was finally seen off from the state by the people of Raichur district.
Former party chief in Karnataka Sonia Gandhi also participated in the yatra on 6 October.
Speaking about the yatra’s impact in the state, a senior party leader said, “The yatra led by Rahul Gandhi passed through 20 assembly seats in the state and Congress is leading in 15 of them.”
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary and party’s communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh said it was a direct impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka. The intangible effect was unifying the party, revitalizing the cadre and shaping the script for the Karnataka elections.
The guarantees and promises in our manifesto were discussed and finalized based on Rahul Gandhi’s interactions with the people of Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said.
Visit Ballari (ST), Bellary City, Gundlupet, Challakere (ST), Hiriyur, Molakapuru (ST), Melukote, Nagamangala, Srirangapatna, Chamundeshwari, Krishnaraja, Nanjangud (SC), Narasimharaja, Varuna, Raichur, Raichur Rural (ST), Passed through Chikkanayakkanahalli, Gubbi, Sira and Turuvekere assembly seats.
According to party leaders, the party had won five of these seats in the 2018 assembly elections, while this year the party is leading in 15 seats. The JD-S had won six of these 20 assembly seats in Karnataka in 2018, while the BJP had won nine.
In this year’s assembly polls, the JD-S was leading in three seats, while the BJP was leading in only two.
Rahul Gandhi got an opportunity to connect with the local people and listen to their concerns during the 3,570-km padyatra.
The yatra covered the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and concluded in Srinagar on January 31 this year.
The Congress has won 118 seats in Karnataka and is leading in 18, while the ruling BJP has won 53 and is leading in 11. JD-S, on the other hand, has won 18 seats and is leading in two seats in the southern state.
Voting for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly took place on 10 May. The Congress ran an aggressive campaign in the state and highlighted issues of corruption. The party also promised five guarantees for the people of the state.
–IANS
