Udupi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be touring parts of coastal and Malnad Karnataka on Tuesday and Wednesday. After a good public response to his earlier tour of Hyderabad-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka regions, the party chief is touring the communally sensitive, BJP stronghold of the state.
But some Congress leaders from Udupi are not enthusiastic about his visit. Udupi district in-charge minister and MLA Pramod Madhwaraj is not interested in hosting the party leader and has conveyed the same to state Congress leaders.
It is not just Pramod Madhvaraj who is disinterested in Rahul Gandhi’s visit. Senior Congress MLA from Baindoor and chairman of KSRTC Gopal Poojary has also reportedly told the state Congress leaders that he won’t be able to host the party president in Kundapura and Baindoor, both in Udupi district.
Gopal Poojary thinks that Rahul Gandhi might cost him some votes. He knows that Gandhi is a polarising figure in these parts of the state. The BJP is strong here and they try to twist Rahul Gandhi’s speech to their advantage. Poojary wants to avoid that.
