Rift in Karnataka Congress after senior leader excluded from Bharat Jodo Yatra committees

Karnataka Congress leader RV Deshpande was not included in any of the 18 committees constituted to manage the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar and former KPCC chief RV Deshpande are at loggerheads over the party’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. Despande was not included in any of the 18 committees constituted to manage the yatra.

Earlier, RV Deshpande did not agree with Shivakumar's demand to mobilise 5,000 people from each constituency for the yatra. The senior MLA said getting 5000 people from his constituency in Uttara Kannada would be difficult as the Yatra stretch is 450 kilometres from his constituency.

The yatra will enter its Karnataka leg through Chamarajanagar district on September 30.

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Responding to Deshpande, Shivakumar had said, “Deshpande said he can’t do it, because his constituency is too far. I said nothing doing...Can’t we just do this for one day for the sake of Rahul Gandhi?” he asked.

Deshpande had said people from his constituency would come but gathering 5000 people would be difficult.

In a meeting held to discuss the yatra, Shivakumar had told party workers that the Congress appointed a team under Sunil (political strategist Sunil Kanugolu) to do a political analysis of the yatra.