Yatra politics begins in Karnataka

First they slept in the assembly for nearly a week and today they will walk the roads of the state. It is time for Yatra politics in Karnataka.

The first of the Yatras will commence on July 25th and this would be undertaken by the Congress which is in the opposition in Karnataka. Congress leader Siddaramaiah who will lead the yatra informed that this Yatra is aimed at exposing illegal mining in Karnataka. Moreover it aims at stopping the looting of the natural resources in Karnataka. The rally by foot will commence at the Freedom Park in Bangalore and will end at Bellary where a huge public will be held on August 9th. During the rally the district bearers of the party and also the general public from various districts will join them, he also informed.

In order to counter the opposition and tell the people their version of the story, the Reddy brothers will also take out a rally commencing at Bellary. This rally which is scheduled to commence on August 20th will have BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj in the lead. Janardhan Reddy had announced on Monday that they need to tell people their version of the story and they will also expose the Congress during this rally. The rally will end at Mysore which is the stronghold of Siddaramaiah.

However there appears to be a minor skirmish within the Bharatiya Janata Party regarding this rally since on August 13 the Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa would like to undertake his rally of 30 districts. This matter had even reached the high command and is currently being sorted out.

Yeddyurappa feels that the Reddy brothers should not undertake the rally since it would give an indication that there are two power houses within the BJP. However this time around the MLAs appear to be united with the CM since they feel that the rally to be undertaken by him would have more importance. The CM had made it clear that he would visit all thirty districts in Karnataka in the wake of the Taluk Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat elections. Sources within the BJP told rediff.com that the CM and BJP chief Eshwarappa have refused to take part in the rally by the Reddy brothers since they feel that it is not the time to wage a personal war with the opposition. Instead the party must stand united and join the CM in his rally to win the trust of the people for the forthcoming local body elections.