Assembly polls: Congress plans to woo Karnataka youth

BENGALURU: Congress plans to woo young voters who have been staunch supporters of PM Modi ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls. “We are showcasing the youth leadership and telling them we want to listen to your aspirations and work with you to achieve them,” agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda told ET.

The outreach called ‘Nanna Karnataka’ (My Karnataka) with about 500 students drawn from colleges who don’t belong to the Congress youth or student wings is to be launched in Bengaluru on Tuesday, just a day after Mohammad Nalapad Harris, the son of Congress MLA NA Harris was arrested for assaulting another youth. Nalapad has been expelled for six years and the state government has come down harshly on the police who delayed in arresting him. “The timing is a bit off, but we are ready to take questions on the issue. We genuinely want to listen to what the youth have to say and what they want from the government,” he added.

Unlike BJP, which regularly holds youth interactions and discussions, this is the first time the Congress is directly reaching out to youth across class, gender and caste. “We will be hold about 100 town-hall meetings with people aged between 17 and 27. Ten young Congress leaders will interact with them, take questions, share their thoughts,” former state Youth Congress president and MLC Rizwan Arshad told ET.


“Congress stands for what youngsters want. Youngsters are inclusive, progressive.”