The BJP’s Nava Karnataka Parivarthana Rath Yatra, kicked off by party national president Amit Shah on Thursday here as a precursor to state unit president BS Yeddyurappa’s statewide tour, was a chaotic event which left the party red-faced.
Empty seats greeted Shah as he took on the Siddaramaiah government.
Accusing the CM of vote-bank politics, Shah said his government’s grand preparations for Tipu Jayanti outdid the Rajyotsava celebrations. He sought a reply from Siddaramaiah on the killings of RSS and BJP workers in Karnataka.
The rally at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumakuru Road was to be a convention of 3 lakh workers from across the state, with party men riding up on bikes from other districts. Though arrangements were made for 1 lakh workers, about 20,000 turned up, leaving the organizers cutting a sorry figure before Shah.
The responsibility of bringing crowds to the venue and managing the function was reportedly handed over to BJP MLA R Ashoka.
The rally left roads in north Bengaluru in a gridlock – traffic was held up for hours on Tumakuru Road, Nelamangala expressway, Madanayakanahalli Main Road, NICE Peripheral Ring Road, Yeshwantpur and Outer Ring Road stretch between Ballari Road and Goraguntepalya.
The much-hyped Nava Karnataka Parivarthana rath yatra of the state BJP, flagged off by party national president Amit Shah on Thursday to virtually launch the party’s campaign for the 2018 polls, evoked poor response from party workers.Shah used the platform to attack the Congress government’s decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanti, dubbing it “vote bank politics”, and also fan communal passions.
“Chief minister Siddaramaiah had a lacklustre programme to mark Karnataka formation day on November 1, with nothing to show that he cares for the state and Kannada. He is much more focused on November 10, when Tipu Jayanti is being celebrated. A celebration that is indicative of his vote bank politics,” Shah said.
During his 20-minute speech in Hindi, which was translated into Kannada by Union minister H N Ananth Kumar, Shah sought a reply from Siddaramaiah on the killings of RSS and BJP workers in the state. “The Siddaramaiah government is not interested in protecting the country’s national security, and this is much evident by the fact that he withdrew cases against SDPI activists and criminals,” he added.
There was no word from Shah on resolving the Mahadayi issue on sharing of the river waters between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa had told in an interview on November 1 that an announcement would be made by Shah on resolving the issue outside the tribunal.
While Shah continued to speak against the Siddaramaiah government, BJP’s state leaders were in jitters as the turnout by party workers was below expectations.Against the earlier projected number of 3lakh party workers on 1.5 lakh motorbikes, the figure slipped to 50,000 motorbikes on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the turnout was around 5,000 motorbikes.
Shah flew into Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumakuru Road in a chopper at 1pm, and after flagging off the yatra, left by the same helicopter. He justified holding the yatra, saying it was not the primary intention of the BJP to either change the CM or a minister or an MLA in any state, but more to do with changing the fortunes of Karnataka. “The yatra will visit all 224 constituencies in the state and assure the people that the Siddaramaiah government will be uprooted from the state in the 2018 elections,” he said.
Shah reiterated to the crowd that the BJP has been providing all monetary assistance to the Congress government, but it appeared that no money was reaching the people. “I demand an account from CM Siddaramaiah of the Rs 1.3lakh crore given by the central government under the 13th Finance Commission, because we don’t know where the money went,” he claimed.
