BANGALORE: With a massive convention scheduled for Saturday at Ballary, the Karnataka Congress is optimistic about the reception to the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi from the general public.

On Friday, the padayatra will arrive in Andhra Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi will approach Obalapuram in the Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh after resuming his padayatra from Ramapura in the Ballary district. Following its brief visit, the padayatra will return to Karnataka.

Rahul Gandhi will reach Andhra Pradesh through Jajirakallu Toll Plaza. He will stay there till 4.30 .m. and then resume the yatra. The leaders of the Karnataka Congress are doing everything possible to ensure its success. The party hopes to have similar success to what it had in the 2013 Assembly election.

The mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, a cabinet minister in the then-ruling BJP government, and the mining mafia were the targets of Siddaramaiah's enormous "Ballary chalo" padayatra.

The party also gives the Ballary parliamentary constituency special consideration, as in-charge Congress President Sonia Gandhi emerged victorious in parliamentary elections against BJP's candidate Sushma Swaraj, 20 years ago.

The Congress, which hasn't staged any significant events in the Kalyan, Karnataka region, is also hoping to win over 40 or more Assembly seats in the next elections.

 The leaders have been tasked with gathering up to an estimated five lakh people for the mega convention. It is going to be a display of might of the party against the ruling BJP, said sources in the Congress party.

M.B. Patil, a former minister and opposition leader, and Eshwar Khandre, a prominent office-holder in the party, have been tasked with making final preparations for the convention. To maximise the impact, the party anticipates Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's participation at the convention.

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