Basavaraj Bommai and BS Yediyurappa will kickstart the BJP's election yatra. (File Photo)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa will kickstart the party's election tour in the state from Raichur on Tuesday, in the run-up to assembly polls next year.
The two are scheduled to cover 52 Assembly segments till December 25, as part of the 'Jana Sankalpa Yatra'.
The ruling party's tour begins at the time when Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi is passing through the state.
"The intention of the Jana Sankalpa Yatra is to inform the programmes, work and policies of BJP government in the state and at the Centre, and also send a message to BJP office-bearers and workers to prepare for elections with a resolve to bring BJP back to power in the state," Mr Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here ahead of leaving for Raichur, he said, "There is enthusiasm everywhere. Through the Jana Sankalpa Yatra, we hope to gain the confidence of the people and to be victorious in the 2023 assembly polls." According to the Chief Minister, during the tour, he will be interacting with beneficiaries of various schemes and visit certain places as planned by the local party functionaries.
Responding to a question, Mr Bommai said he and his party are not worried about Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra, and said the foot march has no impact.
"The world knows, it is 'jodoing' (uniting) whom and 'thodoing' (dividing) whom. It has no importance. We are not worried, we are doing our sankalpa (resolution) yatra to win the election by informing people about our programmes. There is no connection with it (BJP's tour with Congress' yatra)," he added.
Incidentally, BJP's tour begins from Raichur Rural assembly segment, an ST reserve seat that has a huge presence of the Valmiki community.
The state government had last week decided to to hike the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for STs from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. The 'Valmiki Gurupeetha' seer Prasannananda Swami has been on a hunger strike demanding the Scheduled Tribes quota hike.
Mr Bommai and Mr Yediyurappa will be touring predominantly in the 'Kalyana Karnataka' region.
Of the 52 seats which they will be touring, 20 constituencies are currently represented by Congress MLAs and four by JD(S).
Also, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel will be touring Haveri, Gadag and Hubli-Dharwad over the next three days.
The party has also planned seven rallies by - SC Morcha in Mysuru on October 16, OBC Morcha in Kalaburagi on October 30, Raitha (farmer) Morcha in Hubballi on November 13, Yuva (youth) Morcha in Shivamogga on November 27, ST Morcha in Ballari on November 27, Mahila (women) Morcha in Bengaluru on December 25 and Minority Morcha in Vijayapura on January 8 ahead of the polls.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)