Nearly three months after the biggest victory in the Assembly polls, the Congress is all set to prepare the ground for Lok Sabha elections on the home turf of AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge with the launch of Gruha Jyothi scheme, on Saturday.
After clinching 26 assembly seats out of the total 41 seats in the region, the party workers are chalking out a strategy to win all five MP seats in the region on the plank of guarantee schemes.
The Congress party has allotted no less than eight ministerial berths for the region keeping eye on the Lok Sabha elections. Also, special attention was paid on giving representation to the dominant castes and communities in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.
While the mood in the Congress camp is upbeat, the BJP, which rode on Modi wave to register a clean sweep in the region in the 2019 Parliamentary elections, is facing an anti-incumbency ahead of the 2024 LS polls. Gulbarga MP Umesh Jadhav, who shot to fame defeating Kharge, is facing wrath of his constituents and party workers for being inaccessible and neglecting the constituency.
Also, the Congress leaders are planning to capitalise on the unfulfilled demands on several Central government projects in the region. Separate railway division for the region, setting up of AIIMS in Raichur, night landing facility in Kalaburagi airport and demand for more flights and train service to Bengaluru have remained unfulfilled. Hence, the ruling party in the state is trying to cash in on the public anger against the BJP MPs of the region.
1.41 crore beneficiaries
A total of 1,41,23,240 beneficiaries have registered their names under the Gruha Jyothi scheme in the State. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge will launch the scheme in a programme which is expected to see a crowd of over 20,000 people from Kalyana Karnataka districts. The CM and AICC president will symbolically present a zero power tariff bill to the beneficiaries. The in-charge ministers will flag off the scheme in their respective districts.
"The government has set aside the funds required for implementation of guarantee schemes. This will not cause any adverse impact on the other programmes and development projects. The BJP and JD(S) leaders are not tolerating the success of these schemes and misleading the people on the people-friendly schemes of the Congress government," Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge said.