The Karnataka Congress is set to begin an 84-day statewide foot march on September 30, 2026, starting from Shikaripura in Shivamogga district. The programme is being organised as a Bharat Jodo-style outreach initiative and is planned to cover 84 Assembly constituencies where the Congress was defeated in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election.
The opening programme in Shikaripura is significant because the constituency has been associated with former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and is currently represented by his son B.Y. Vijayendra, who is also a senior BJP leader in the state. Congress leaders have selected the constituency as the starting point for the programme as part of their planned political outreach across constituencies where the party did not win in the previous Assembly election.
According to the Congress’s announcement, the 84-day programme will focus on direct interaction with people, meetings with local communities and party workers, and public programmes across the selected constituencies. The party has said the initiative is intended to strengthen its organisational presence and reconnect with voters in areas where it faced defeat in the 2023 Assembly polls.
The programme also marks the anniversary of the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s entry into Karnataka. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30, 2022, and travelled through several districts of the state during its Karnataka leg. The new programme is being presented as a continuation of that grassroots outreach approach, although its focus is specifically on the 84 constituencies where Congress lost in 2023.
The opening march in Shikaripura is expected to include Congress leaders, elected representatives, party workers and supporters. Reports have indicated that the initial programme could involve a 10-km padyatra through parts of the Shikaripura area. Senior Karnataka Congress leaders are also expected to participate in different stages of the wider programme.
The Congress has also connected the proposed march with its concerns regarding the Election Commission of India and electoral processes. Congress leaders have raised allegations concerning the functioning of the Election Commission and voter-list revision. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of electoral manipulation, making this an area of political disagreement between the Congress and the poll authority.
The programme comes at a time when Karnataka’s political parties are preparing for continued grassroots mobilisation ahead of future electoral contests. By concentrating the march on 84 constituencies where Congress was defeated, the party is seeking to increase its organisational activity and establish greater contact with voters in those areas.
The Congress’s 84-day programme will therefore combine grassroots outreach, public meetings, padyatras and organisational activities across the selected constituencies. The response from local voters, participation by party workers and the political reactions from the BJP and other parties are likely to shape the discussion around the programme as it progresses.
The Shikaripura launch on September 30 will mark the beginning of the statewide exercise, with the Congress expected to announce or implement the detailed constituency-wise schedule in phases. The programme’s progress will provide an indication of how the party approaches its organisation and voter outreach in constituencies where it did not secure victory in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election.
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