Congress drops plans for separate bus tours by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar

According to a senior party leader, the bus tour led by Shivakumar and separately would have been similar to the 1999 ‘Panchjanya Yatra’ in which Congress leaders led by the then KPCC president S M Krishna had travelled in buses.

With only a few months left for the 2023 elections in Karnataka, the local unit of Congress has been planning to take out a bus rally across the state in an effort to gather more support. The move was announced on the heels of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The bus Yatra was announced on the heels of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. (Agencies)

Even as earlier speculations suggested a separate yatra for opposition leader Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar, the Congress high command has ruled again on the proposed plan for DK Shivkumar and Siddaramaiah to travel separately.

The initial plan of the KPCC was to divide the constituencies in the state between the KPCC president and former chief minister, with one covering the northern regions and the other covering the southern districts. However, two senior Congress leaders, who are privy to the details of the recent meetings said that now a decision has been taken that both the leaders will travel together.

According to a senior party leader, the bus tour led by Shivakumar and separately would have been similar to the 1999 ‘Panchjanya Yatra’ in which Congress leaders led by the then KPCC president S M Krishna had travelled in buses.

“The reason why the yatra was divided between the two leaders is due to time constraints. Covering all 224 assembly seats will take time. Since we have two tall leaders in the party, they could send the party’s message strongly if they divided the tasks between them. But we realised that this could be used by the Opposition to show that both leaders are not together,” said a leader who didn’t want to be named.

KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed said, “The bus yatra, which will start in early December, will go through all districts and all the details will be worked out by the party leadership”. Ahmed said that party unity is important and “both leaders should be together while travelling through the districts.”

The party is also conducting district-wise meetings before the bus journey, and minor disagreements between local leaders are also being resolved, said a leader in the know of the developments. The meetings in half of the districts has already been completed and it has been decided to start the yatra after the meeting concludes in the rest of the districts, said the leader.

KPCC spokesperson Priyank Kharge said that currently the senior leader of the party, including AICC Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and others are discussing the issues in each district. “Once the issues of these constituencies are studied, a detailed plan for the yatra will be drawn,” he said.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah’s camp has showcased its bus for the upcoming yatra. While the details of the bus yatra are yet to be announced, Siddaramaiah took a trial run of the bus on Sunday by travelling to Kolar along with a few other leaders.

Videos showing features of the bus were shared on social media.

The air-conditioned bus is from the Japanese company Isuzu and is altered to seat six people, with comfortable pushback seats and a table in the middle. It also consists of a sleeping area with a double bed and an attached toilet. Near the driver’s seat is a platform on which four-five people can stand. It can be lifted through the sunroof of the bus to allow Siddaramaiah to campaign from the bus itself.

According to people in Siddaramaiah’s office, the bus was rented out for the former chief minister by Congress Hebbal MLA Byrati Suresh.