Rahul Yatra: BJP in a huddle in Karnataka today, as Cong gets into stride

The meetings coincide with the Rahul Gandhi-led Yatra passing through south Karnataka, where the support of the dominant Vokkaliga community is in a state of flux.

The meetings, sources said, will discuss strategies like a possible visit next month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unveil a 108-ft statue of the 16th-century founder of Bengaluru, Kempegowda, a revered figure among Vokkaligas; rallies and padyatras by BJP leaders; social media campaigns to blunt the Congress’s ‘PayCM’ and ’40 percent commission’ campaigns; and trumpeting of BJP achievements.

The Karnataka BJP executive committee meeting will feature state party in-charge Arun Singh, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former CM B S Yediyurappa and state president Nalin Kumar Kateel. The 13-member core committee comprises Yediyurappa, Bommai, Kateel, Union minister Pralhad Joshi, senior state ministers Govind Karjol, R Ashok, B Sreeramulu, and former BJP presidents Jagadish Shettar and D V Sadananda Gowda, among others.

“We will be discussing strategies for the BJP to win 150 seats in the next Assembly polls,” Arun Singh said, expressing confidence in the BJP’s return to power.

Sections of the party — including seniors like Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Patil Yatnal – have been unhappy over the functioning of the Bommai government. There is also an apprehension that the state leadership has been weak in combating the Congress yatra campaign, at a time when elections are just next year.

“BJP leaders are protecting their own positions and there have been no strong counters (to the Rahul Yatra). This will be discussed in the coming days,” a BJP source said.

Even the anti-corruption campaign of the Congress has found the BJP largely on the defensive, though the party has started attacking back now.

After Rahul Gandhi, on the second day of the Karnataka leg of the Yatra, called the BJP government in Karnataka one of the most corrupt, Bommai said: “The entire Congress party is out on bail.” It was a reference to the National Herald case in which the roles of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar are under a scanner.

The BJP is also targeting Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah, and claiming he has links with the Popular Front of India, which was recently banned for alleged involvement in unlawful activities and terrorism. In a social media campaign, state BJP president Nalin Kateel labelled Siddaramaiah, “Siddaramullah”.

On Thursday, in an apparent attempt to counter the Rahul Yatra, the BJP took out full-page advertisements in four Kannada language newspapers attacking the Congress. The advertisements carried “news” articles showing the Congress in a bad light, including one that suggested Rahul was partying when the 26/11 terror attack happened in Mumbai in 2008, and another on the Siddaramaiah government dropping 175 cases against PFI members.

The BJP has also tried to accuse Siddaramaiah of Naxal links, with its BJP Rajya Sabha MP Lehar Singh releasing a set of questions suggesting the same. “Were Naxals-Maoists involved in planning Bharat Jodo Yatra Karnataka leg and actively taking part in the yatra?” Singh asked, in a list of 10 questions.

Congress leader Priyank Kharge, the son of Congress presidential post contender Mallikarjun Kharge, has countered by asking Singh to ask the questions of Home Minister Amit Shah. “Or is he suggesting that HM is incompetent and doesn’t have a clue what the Naxals are up to,” Priyank said.

The BJP has also attempted to play on the divisions between Congress leaders in Karnataka by stating that the Bharat Jodo Yatra should be labelled as the Congress Jodo Yatra.

However, BJP leaders admit that for a change, the Congress appears to be doing better on the social media front. “A lot of the counter-campaign by the BJP has involved personal attacks on Congress leaders. There is a need for a more well-thought-out campaign to showcase the BJP’s achievements,” a leader said.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30 from Kerala. It will stay in Karnataka for 21 days and traverse 511 km before entering Telangana.