Congress fails to improve its graph: Party top brass to Karnataka leaders

The Karnataka unit of the Congress had failed to cash in on the ‘declining popularity of the BJP government’ in the state, the party’s poll strategist said at a meeting of leaders from the state here on Monday.

At the meeting, convened by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge to strategise for the Assembly elections, election strategist Sunil Kanugolu is learnt to have said that though people of the state were upset with the Bommai government due to corruption charges and controversies, the Congress’ graph was not going up.

Kanugolu, who briefed the leaders on the current political situation in Karnataka, said when the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through Karnataka, there was momentum in the party’s activities. However, it soon subsided.

Also Read: Congress chalks out public outreach plan in poll-bound Karnataka

“The party is yet to mobilise public opinion against the BJP government,” a senior Congress leader quoted Kanugolu as saying.

The state leaders should set the narrative by exposing the ‘misdeeds of the ruling dispensation,’ he reportedly said at the meeting.

Kanugolu said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had been holding rallies in every district under the banner of ‘Jan Sankalpa Yatre’ for the last one month, while the JD(S) has already started its campaign by organising ‘Pancharatna Yatre.’

However, the Congress was yet to start any such campaign, the leader said, quoting Kanugolu.

After Bharat Jodo Yatra, no major Congress event was held in the state, except programmes to felicitate Kharge on his election as the party’s national president, the poll strategist said, according to the leader.

At the meeting which lasted for more than three hours, Kharge asked former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief Shivakumar to bury their differences and work unitedly for the elections.

Insisting that factionalism was hurting the organisation and creating confusion among the cadre, Kharge told them that they should work to remove the impression that there was groupism.

Also Read: Elections are contest among parties, not 'beauty contest' between personalities: Jairam Ramesh

The meeting was attended by Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, Randeep Surjewala, AICC general secretary incharge of the party’s affairs in the state, K C Venugopal, general secretary (organisation), former union minister K H Muniyappa and leader of the Opposition in the Council B K Hariprasad.

The state leaders urged the national leaders to finalise candidates for at least 150 constituencies by mid-January. Kharge promised to form an election committee to screen the aspirants’ list soon.

Mega rallies planned

Surjewala told reporters that the meeting decided to hold a series of rallies in the run-up to the polls. On December 13, the Krishna river water convention has been planned in Vijayapura, on January 2, a rally has been planned in Belagavi on the Mahadayi river water sharing issue. A convention of SC/STs is scheduled in Chitradurga on January 8.

The party has decided to hold an yatra for 75 days, covering all districts and all 224 constituencies. For the first 15 days, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah will undertake a joint yatra. Later on, they will go on separate yatras, he said.