JD(S) plans four-month ‘Pancha Ratna Yatre’ to woo Karnataka voters
Under Pancha Ratna, five assurances will be given to voters, to be fulfilled if the party comes to power in the state; these concern education, health, employment, agriculture and irrigation
As the ruling BJP and the principal opposition party Congress are busy holding congregations in Karnataka ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, the Janata Dal (Secular) is out to woo voters with its ‘Pancha Ratna Yatre’.
The JD(S) is holding a ‘Pancha Ratna Grama Vastavya’ to reach out to people and keep the spirits of the party workers high. Former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy (HDK), in consultation with his father HD Deve Gowda, has prepared a blueprint to bring his party back to power and the Pancha Ratna Yatre is a step in this direction.
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Inspired from Grama Vastavaiya
The Yatre has been planned in the background of the once popular Grama Vastavaiya (village stay programme), which was introduced by HDK when he was the chief minister of the coalition government of JD(S) and BJP, in 2006. Grama Vastavya was a highly popular village-stay programme through which Kumaraswamy attracted a good fan-following.
HDK again thought of starting the same during his short stay as CM in 2018 with the Congress alliance. However, he could not do so as conflict with the Congress made him quit. Now, he has planned a different kind of Grama Vastavya, which is more like a celebration, and named it Pancha Ratna Yatre – Grama Vastavya.
JD(S) sources said the Yatre will be started after Ganesha Chaturthi and that the programme is scheduled for almost four months with the hope that this will keep the party on a war-footing for the polls.
Five assurances
The Grama Vastavya will have an added attraction of Pancha Ratna, where five assurances will be given to the voters, to be fulfilled if the party comes to power in the state. The five assurances are prioritising education, health, employment (youth and women empowerment), agriculture and irrigation in the state.
HDK has already held the ‘Janata Jaladhaare’, an ambitious programme to connect with people by educating them about his projects on irrigation and gaining power.
Kumaraswamy told The Federal that his party has always been for the poor, farmers and the overall development of the state. The new programme, he said, would connect the people of Karnataka and the assurances given will be fulfilled on attaining power.
The Pancha Ratna Yatre will be held in the state for four months across four phases. The first phase will cover the Old Mysore area — after pooja at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore, it will cover Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Mandya, Hasan, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumkur, Bangalore rural, etc. The second phase will be in coastal and Malnad districts and the third phase will cover Central Karnataka (Davanagere, Haveri, Gadag, etc.). The fourth phase will be in North Karnataka (Kalyana Karnataka and Kittur Karnataka).
Meeting people
According to the plan, HDK and his team will spend time in a village between 10 am and 10 pm. The Pancha Ratna Jatha will have five tableaus and each one will explain five plans of Pancha Ratnas. Apart from this, there will be a Janata Mitra vehicle to avail suggestions from the public. This tech-savvy vehicle will have QR codes and people can scan the forms and give their suggestions. There will be a box in which people can drop their suggestions.
HDK will travel in a chariot while visiting villages. He will visit groups of people on the way and hold discussions with them on present-day problems. He will spend the night at a temple, community hall or a school, and hold public meetings. The next day, he will go on a morning stroll in the village to get more information on issues concerning the village. He will then move towards the next village as per the scheduled programme, said the coordinator PK Channakrishna.
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Sources said the JD(S) has prepared a chart of constituencies to be covered in its strongholds in the Old Mysore region to take on their traditional rival Congress, being led by Vokkaliga strongman DK Shivakumar. It will also be an early-bird advantage for JDS in the region where the ruling BJP is making all-out efforts to make its presence felt.
