BJP ropes in techies for Unity run in Bengaluru

As many as 3,000 software professionals are expected to take part in a ‘Run for Unity’ the BJP will organize on the occasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary on Wednesday, Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda said.

“So far, 500 techies have registered and we expect it may go up to 3,000,” Gowda told a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The Run for Unity as part of the National Unity Day will also coincide with the unveiling of Sardar Patel’s nearly 600 feet statue in Gujarat.

The Run for Unity will be held across Bengaluru’s three Parliamentary constituencies - Bangalore North, Bangalore Central and Bangalore South.

Gowda, who represents Bangalore North, will anchor the run scheduled to start at 8 am from Manyata Tech Park towards the Outer Ring Road. Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan will lead the run from Cubbon Park Metro Station toward Vasanthnagar Sardar Patel Bhavan.

Former minister R Ashoka will lead the run in Bangalore South from the Chandragupta Maurya stadium (Shalini Ground) via Jayanagar Shopping Complex. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister H N Ananthkumar, who represents Bangalore South, is undergoing treatment at a city-based cancer hospital.

On BJP leaders’ claim that Karnataka’s political scenario would change after the bypoll results are out on November 6, Gowda cryptically said: “You wait till November 6...”

The BJP is up against the Congress-JD(S) combine in the November 3 bypoll to five seats - Bellary, Shimoga and Mandya (Lok Sabha), Ramanagara and Jamkhandi (Assembly).

Gowda said the BJP was headed toward a clear victory in three constituencies. He did not say which ones. “In the other two constituencies, there’s a tough fight that can go either way. It won’t be a surprise if we win all the five constituencies,” he said.

Asked to comment on Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s controversial remark linking Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan with Panama Papers, Gowda said: “It is a waste of time commenting on Rahul Gandhi.”