Bengaluru: Congress president Rahul Gandhi arrives in Shimoga, the hometown of state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa, on Tuesday. After his well-attended public meetings in Hyderabad-Karnataka, Mumbai-Karnataka, Coastal Karnataka and South Karnataka, the star campaigner of the party would be travelling across Shimoga, Davanagare and Chitradurga districts in central Karnataka on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Congress did quite well in one time socialist bastion of Shimoga in the 2013 Assembly polls by winning three out of seven seats. Surprisingly, the JDS also won three seats and B S Yeddyurappa, who had floated his own party KJP, won his seat Shikaripura. The BJP had failed to open its account there.
After Yeddyurappa returned to BJP, the saffron brigade is hoping to restore its lost pride in Shimoga in this election. Even though the BJP is not actually in a formidable position here, it is confident of beating both Congress and JDS, riding on Yeddyurappa ‘wave’.
BJP chief Amit Shah has already addressed a public meeting in Shimoga. The Congress has now taken the battle directly to Yeddyurappa’s door by bringing party supremo to Shimoga. After landing at Hubli airport, he will take a helicopter ride to Shimoga in the morning.
He will participate in a roadshow in the central Karnataka town before entering the neighbouring district of Davanagere. He is scheduled to address public meetings at Honnali, Harihara and Davanagere before evening.
Davanagere is a stronghold of Lingayats and a powerful section has backed Siddaramaiah government’s decision to accord minority status to them.
On Wednesday, Congress president will fly to Holalkere in Chitradurga district, another Lingayat stronghold. Amit Shah addressed a mega public meeting at the same place a month ago.
From there, Rahul Gandhi will fly to Tumkur to meet the 111-year-old seer of Siddaganga Mutt Shivakumara Swamy, a revered Lingayat pontiff.
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