The Indian National Congress will kickstart its Bharat Nirman Rally at Davangere, a small town 300 kilometres away from Bengaluru. The Bharat Nirman rally which marks the launch of the Congress campaign for the Lok Sabha polls will be started by Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi.
Congress workers in Karnataka told rediff.com that atleast 3 lakh people are scheduled to attend the rally which will be held at the Bapuji MBA college maidan in Davangere. gandhi is scheduled to land in Hubli at around 12.20 and she will travel by road to Davangere and address the rally at 1300 hrs.
Congress sources say that the reason for chosing Davangere as the venue are two fold. One the town is a central location in Karnataka. Secondly the Congress will be looking to break into the Bharatiya Janata Party's bastion since these areas are Lingayat dominated who incidentally are
the BJPs vote bank. Congress leaders see this rally as a ray of hope and feel that this rally would give the party the necessary boost to bury their differences and enter the battle front on a united note.
The Congress is eagerly awaiting the completition of this rally as it was decided that the list of candidates for the polls would be announced only after the Sonia show. Congress sources say that the list is expected to come out anytime between 24th and 27th of this month. Sources say that the list is already ready but they would be giving the final touches after the rally to be held on Monday.
Meanwhile all state leaders have been camping in Davangere since the past two days and are overseeing the arrangements. The Congress says that seating arrangements for at least 2 lakh people have been made and people from accross the state are expected to flock to Davanagere for the rally.