With little more than two weeks to go for the first phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will address their first joint rally on Sunday as coalition partners. Rahul, who is also scheduled to address rallies in Vijayawada and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, will land in Bengaluru at 4:15 pm.
The rally, which will be held in Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumkur Road, will see close to five lakh supporters of both parties. Other than Rahul Gandhi and HD Deve Gowda, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Deputy CM G Parameshwara, former CM Siddaramaiah, KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao and Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar will be present.
The 'Parivartana Samavesha' is the first political rally that will see the top leadership of both the parties share the dais after a pre-poll alliance for the coming polls was announced way back in mid-2018. Sunday’s rally will be primarily targeted towards voters and workers of Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural and three constituencies of Bengaluru city.
To oversee the arrangements, Chief Minister HDK had himself visited the premises to check on the preparedness of the organisers.
Speaking to reporters, the CM said, “This will be the first joint campaign by the Congress and JD(S). Sunday's meeting will be historic as it will send a clear message to the people of the country from Karnataka for the Lok Sabha polls.”
The coalition partners who had initially decided to go with a 20:8 seat sharing formula had, in the last minute, changed their decision on Bengaluru North. While the seat was initially allocated to the JD(S), sitting Karnataka minister Krishna Byre Gowda of the Congress was chosen as the candidate.
While there is new found bonhomie between the longtime arch-rival, divide between the JD(S) and Congress remain visible in places like Hassan and Tumakuru.