So far, so good Battlefield Karnataka

The monsoon session of Parliament will end on Friday. The session has not been as fraught as those have been lately, though the National Democratic Alliance government seems to have a penchant for shooting itself in the foot by generating controversies in the middle of a session. This time, it was the defection of four sitting Congress MLAs in Gujarat, ahead of the Rajya With eight months left for elections, Karnataka will see two events to kick off the battle.

On Saturday, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Raichur, while Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah will begin his three-day tour of the state, besides holding party meetings. However, it is not clear whether he will hold a public meeting.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara said the Raichur public rally, which was scheduled for August 4, was postponed to August 12 following the death of former chief minister N Dharam Singh. "The Raichur rally will be held on August 12, with Rahul Gandhi attending the event along with senior KPCC members, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Lok Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka in-charge secretary K C Venugopal and Oscar Fernandes," he said.

Parameshwara said more such mega rallies would be held in Belagavi, Mysuru and Bengaluru. District incharge ministers of these places have been asked to find a suitable date and venue for the same. However, according to BJP spokespersons, Shah's visit would primarily be a closed-door event, with a series of meetings scheduled between August 12 and August 14.