Rahul to visit Karnataka for 3 days from February 24

During his three-day second leg of canvassing there, Gandhi will cover Belgaum, Vijayapura (Bijapur), Bagalkot and Dharwad districts from the Mumbai-Karnataka region of the state.

“Gandhi will be visiting these parts of the state for three days straight as part of our Jana Ashirwada Yatre,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary in-charge for the region Manickam Tagore said.

The Congress president is expected to address public meetings, an “only mahila” (women) rally, hold interaction with various groups and also flag off a marathon during the visit.

"He is expected to travel by bus. There are going to be multiple activities,” Tagore added.

According to sources in the party, Gandhi is likely to make visits to temples and dargahs in the next round of the campaigning too.

In the first leg, Gandhi had covered the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of the state between February 10 and February 13.

Though the schedule for election to the 224-member assembly in Karnataka is yet to be declared, campaigning has already begun with national leaders from the Congress and the BJP training guns at each other. The ruling Congress is seeking to retain power in Karnataka, while the BJP is eyeing to wrest the southern state from it. The Congress had unseated the BJP in Karnataka in 2013.

The HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) is another major party in the contest.