BJP's Vijay Sankalp yatras from March 1 in Karnataka

BENGALURU: With the budget session of the state legislature ending earlier this week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to start its election campaign from March 1.
The party will launch Vijay Sankalp yatras between March 1 and 3 with its national leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda flagging them off from the four corners of Karnataka - Chamarajanagar, Bidar, Belagavi, and Bengaluru. These yatras will culminate in Davanagere on March 25 with a public rally which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While Nadda will launch the yatra from Male Mahadeshwara Betta on March 1, Rajnath Singh will flag off another one on March 2 from Nandagad in Belagavi.
The third and fourth yatras will start from Basavakalyan in Bidar and Avathy in Devanahalli, the birthplace of Kempegowda, on March 3, with Amit Shah flagging them off in the morning and afternoon, respectively. The BJP has chosen the locations based on historical and caste importance to the major votebanks - Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Kurubas, and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities.
While Basavakalyan is a holy place for the Lingayats, launching the rath yatra from Nandgad and Avathy is to appeal to the Kurubas and Vokkaligas. The MM Hills temple in Chamarajanagar is of importance to the SC/ST communities. These four yatras will collectively cover around 8,000km through 224 assembly segments. "The party has planned 80 rallies, 75 public meetings, and 150 roadshows during these events. Our target is to reach out to four crore people. We aim to win 150 seats," said public works minister CC Patil.
BJP senior functionary KS Eshwarappa will lead the yatra that starts from Male Mahadeshwara Betta and water resources minister Govind Karjol will spearhead the one from Nandagad. Former CM Jagadish Shettar will lead the yatra in Kayana-Karnataka region and revenue minister R Ashoka in Old Mysuru region.