BENGALURU: After JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda spoke about the possibility of mid-term polls in the state, his party is launching a statewide padayatra from August 20 to strengthen its base by reaching out to people across the state. “We are planning to start the padayatra from August 20 and cover the entire state in six months,” senior JDS leader Y S V Datta, who is working on the details of the padayatra, told TNSE on Saturday.
Deve Gowda, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and other senior party leaders are also likely taking part in the padayatra. It is seen as an attempt by the party leaders to build JDS base outside south Karnataka and regain confidence of people.
After the party’s poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha and local bodies elections, Gowda had stated that he will rebuild the party across the state. The JDS had won only one Lok Sabha seat in the state and Gowda himself had lost from Tumakuru. In local body elections, the regional party was pushed to third position.
The purpose of the padayatra is to tell people about the need for a strong regional party in Karnataka and what it can do for the development of the state. The JDS leaders will also talk about programmes and policies of the party for the state. “Apart from talking about the need for a strong regional party and its programmes and policies, regaining confidence of people is one of the important aspects of the padaytra,” the JDS leader said.
While a team of party leaders will be working on the details of the padayatra, Gowda, who is directly monitoring the party activities in the state, especially after state president H Vishwanth submitted his resignation to the party post, is holding a series of meetings with different units within the party.
“Padayatra will be taken up in two phases. In the first phase, from Cauvery to Tunghabadra and in the second phase Tunghabadra to Malaprabha. It will go on for six months continuously,” Datta said. In the first phase, the padayatra will start from Nanjangud and cover various places, including Bengaluru, before Davangere and Harihar.