Enthusiastic Congress workers burst crackers, beat drums and showered rose petals as former external affairs minister S M Krishna hit the campaign trail in Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday.

Accompanied by State Congress chief G Parameshwara, ministers Roshan Baig, Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao, Krishna took part a roadshow in an open jeep at Sampangiramnagar seeking votes for party candidate Rizwan Arshad. He waved to the crowd as the party workers shouted slogans in favour of the Congress.

The Congress leaders campaigned on the streets of Sampangiramnagar (near Kanteerava stadium) for close to an hour. Hundreds of party workers, including women and youth, took part in the roadshow. As Krishna passed through the narrow lanes, the Congress workers showered rose petals from atop highrise buildings to welcome their leader. He, however, did not make a speech during the hustings.

The 81-year-old Congress stalwart, who is maintaining a low profile ever since he resigned as the external affairs minister, decided to campaign for the party across the State after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara requested him recently. He will also campaign in his home district Mandya, where his followers are at loggerheads with the supporters of Housing Minister H M Ambarish.

‘Opinion polls will go wrong’

Earlier addressing the media, Krishna said all opinion polls would be proved wrong once the election results are out on May 16 and the Congress will return to power at the Centre. “All opinion polls are against the Congress. We are used to this. You (the media) console yourself when the results are out,” he said.

On the BJP's claim of a Narendra Modi wave in the country, he said it was a “created wave” and not a natural one. The country had seen waves in favour Indira Gandhi in 1971 and Rajiv Gandhi in 1984. Those were the natural waves that emanated from the hearts of the people, he said.

He hit at out Modi saying that there was a veneer of dictatorship in the BJP. A number of senior leaders such as L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj,  Murli Manohar Joshi and Jaswant Singh, who built the party, have been sidelined, he said.