<p>Congress is eyeing to regain its hold in the coastal and Malnad regions of Karnataka by holding massive marches in the region ahead of the next Assembly elections.</p>.<p>The party which is planning to hold marches to raise the long pending Mahadayi and Upper Krishna Krishna-III projects in North Karnataka soon is working on holding similar programmes in the coastal and Malnad regions. This region is considered a bastion of the BJP as in the last Assembly, the saffron party won 26 seats out of 31 seats.</p>.<p>The Congress is working on the flag of major issues of the region like communal politics by the BJP, problems faced by coffee, areca nut, coconut, and paddy growers, and the long pending Varahi irrigation project. </p>.<p>“We are also planning to hold marches in Malnad and the coastal region. These two regions are very important for us as the state government failed to address problems faced by this part of the state," Randeep Surjewala, Congress General Secretary in charge Karnataka, told <em>Deccan Herald.</em></p>.<p>In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had won only five seats out of 31 seats of this region which spread to five districts- Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, and Chikkamagaluru. This time, the Congress is targeting to win at least 20 to 23 seats.</p>.<p>Surjewala said that he had already held one round of talks with state Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar recently. "The next round of discussion will be held soon to finalise the programme," he said.</p>.<p>With the Congress high command setting the target to win at least 130 seats in the next Assembly elections, the party leaders in Delhi also told state leaders to focus on seats in coastal and Malnad regions where the party's performance has been declining for the past several years.</p>.<p>"Though the Congress was winning 20 to 23 seats in the region earlier, it declined to 5 seats after the BJP indulged in aggressive Hindutva politics. So we have to regain our food hold in the area," said the leader.</p>
<p>Congress is eyeing to regain its hold in the coastal and Malnad regions of Karnataka by holding massive marches in the region ahead of the next Assembly elections.</p>.<p>The party which is planning to hold marches to raise the long pending Mahadayi and Upper Krishna Krishna-III projects in North Karnataka soon is working on holding similar programmes in the coastal and Malnad regions. This region is considered a bastion of the BJP as in the last Assembly, the saffron party won 26 seats out of 31 seats.</p>.<p>The Congress is working on the flag of major issues of the region like communal politics by the BJP, problems faced by coffee, areca nut, coconut, and paddy growers, and the long pending Varahi irrigation project. </p>.<p>“We are also planning to hold marches in Malnad and the coastal region. These two regions are very important for us as the state government failed to address problems faced by this part of the state," Randeep Surjewala, Congress General Secretary in charge Karnataka, told <em>Deccan Herald.</em></p>.<p>In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had won only five seats out of 31 seats of this region which spread to five districts- Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, and Chikkamagaluru. This time, the Congress is targeting to win at least 20 to 23 seats.</p>.<p>Surjewala said that he had already held one round of talks with state Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar recently. "The next round of discussion will be held soon to finalise the programme," he said.</p>.<p>With the Congress high command setting the target to win at least 130 seats in the next Assembly elections, the party leaders in Delhi also told state leaders to focus on seats in coastal and Malnad regions where the party's performance has been declining for the past several years.</p>.<p>"Though the Congress was winning 20 to 23 seats in the region earlier, it declined to 5 seats after the BJP indulged in aggressive Hindutva politics. So we have to regain our food hold in the area," said the leader.</p>
