Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul to address public meeting in Ballari today

BALLARI: To celebrate the Bharat Jodo Yatra reaching the 1,000-km milestone, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a mega public meeting in Ballari in poll-bound Karnataka on Saturday.

After a night halt at the Halakundhi Math on Friday, Gandhi resumed his march on Saturday to reach Kamma Bhavan in the district headquarters town of Ballari.

The public meeting will take place at the Municipal Ground in the afternoon.

Top Congress leaders, including Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan chief ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot, former chief ministers Siddaramaiah, Kamal Nath, and Selja Kumari, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Digvijaya Singh will attend the event in Ballari.

With just six months left for the assembly elections, the Congress in Karnataka is pinning high hopes on the yatra led by Gandhi as well as the public meeting in Ballari -- being seen as the party's mega show of strength.

Ballari had witnessed a 320-km 'padayatra' by Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah back in 2010 against the alleged illegal mining by the Reddy brothers under the BJP rule.

The march against G Janardhana Reddy, Karunakara Reddy and Somashekara Reddy was a major turning point for the Congress as it helped sharpen its attack on the then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and unseat the BJP government.

The Congress had won the 2013 assembly polls in the state.

Leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi has so far covered four states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday morning, hundreds of people lined up on both sides of the road to greet Gandhi as his caravan moved ahead amidst drumbeats and sloganeering.

The route was dotted with festoons, banners, posters and Congress flags while several people shook hands, hugged and interacted with Gandhi.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30 and will make a final exit on October 20 after covering 511 km in 21 days. The yatra is aimed at uniting India against the divisive forces.