BS Yediyurappa faces botched descent in Kalaburagi

BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa faced an unexpected hitch before his rally in Kalaburagi today, as his chopper was besieged with flying plastic bags while landing.

Videos of the incident show the helicopter almost disappearing in a swirl of dust and plastic debris. Low visibility made the pilot keep hovering in the air while the police cleared the ground below.

Yediyurappa, who the BJP is heavily banking on this campaign season, was in Kalaburagi for his party’s ‘Jana Sankalp Yatra.’

Kalaburagi, formerly part of the Hyderabad princely state, is one of the five districts in the state covered by the Backward Regions Grant fund. It is also one of the regions – along with neighboring Bidar – where the movement for a separate Lingayat religion is very strong, which heightens the importance of Yediyurappa’s presence in the rally.