Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in party-governed Karnataka on Wednesday to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, during which he will address public meetings in Mandya and Kolar.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during an election campaign ahead of Lok Sabha elections. (PTI)
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It is his first visit to the state after the poll schedule was announced a month ago. Interestingly, the Congress is facing JD(S), which is BJP's ally, in both seats.
While it will be a direct contest between JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and Congress' Venkataramane Gowda, popularly known as 'Star Chandru' in Mandya, the fight is between Congress' K V Gowtham and JD(S)' M Mallesh Babu in Kolar.
The Congress had secured only one seat in the 2019 general elections in Karnataka, which has a total of 28 constituencies. The BJP had bagged 25 while an independent candidate backed by the party had also emerged victorious. JD(S) which fought the elections in alliance with the Congress then, won one seat.
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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the party will win 15 to 20 seats in the coming elections in the state.
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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the party will win 15 to 20 seats in the coming elections in the state.
"Rahul Gandhi is coming to Mandya and Kolar tomorrow. He is landing in the afternoon (in Bengaluru), he will directly go to Mandya and from there he will go to Kolar. Then he will come to Bengaluru from where he is scheduled to take a flight back to Delhi," Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said.
Asked whether party leader Priyanka Gandhi will be coming to campaign, Shivakumar, also the state Congress chief, said, "dates have to be taken, timing has to be adjusted, time is very short. She has pressure from other states too. We have requested her to come for one day, let's see."
According to Congress sources, Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to land in Bengaluru around 1.20 pm from where he will go to Mandya by a chopper and address a poll rally at around 2:10 pm. He will then fly to Kolar to address a public meeting at around 4 pm.
Both Mandya and Kolar are going to polls in the first of the two-phase elections in Karnataka.
While 14 segments in the southern part of the state will see polling on April 26, the second phase of voting in the northern districts will be held on May seven.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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