Rahul's next leg of poll compaign to have urban accent

Congress president Rahul Gandhi's second round of campaigning in Karnataka is expected to have a pronounced urban focus as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah makes a determined bid to retain the state, a feat that will set the tone for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

After the successful 'Janaashirvada Yatre', Rahul is set to hit the campaign trail in Karnataka next week and the Congress has drawn elaborate plans that include a mix of public rallies and roadshows in each of the four regions of the state.

"We would like to have focus on urban centres," a senior leader involved in planning the campaign said.

The Congress chief is expected to hold roadshows in district headquarters and rallies else where.

Of the 224 assembly seats in Karnataka, 154 fall in the rural parts of the state while the remaining 70 cover the urban centres.

In the 2013 Assembly elections, the Congress had won almost 60% of the rural seats in a four-cornered contest involving the BJP, Congress, JD(S) and the KJP then helmed by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Of the 70 urban seats, 28 fall in the Bengaluru region, where the Congress had an edge in 2013 having won 13 seats, with the BJP snapping at its heels by pocketing 12 seats. Three seats had gone to the JD(S).

Though Siddaramaiah enjoys a pan-Karnataka appeal, there is a perception that he is more popular in the rural areas than in the urban.

The BJP is aiming to consolidate its hold over the urban areas and had carried out targeted campaigns to reach out to the city voters.

Rahul's 'Janaashirvaada Yatre' took him to 25 out of the 30 districts in the state and efforts would be to cover areas that have been left out of the first leg of his campaign.