After 2 postponements, BJP rebrands Janothsava as Janaspandana to mark Bommai’s first year in office

Poster of ‘Janothsava’ initially planned by the BJP on 8 September after the 28 July event was postponed. (Supplied)

The Janothsava — an event celebrating the BJP’s achievements in Karnataka — has morphed it into the Janaspandana, a somber affair to “respond to people’s concerns”, according to BJP leaders.

“Given the floods, problems faced by people in the state, and the loss of a beloved leader like Umesh Katti, we don’t think now is the time to celebrate. But we have to mark three years of the BJP government in Karnataka and one year of Basavaraj Bommai’s chief ministership,” N Ravi Kumar, general secretary of the Karnataka unit of the BJP, told South First.

“Instead of a celebration under ‘Janothsava’, it will be an event to respond to people’s issues, called ‘Janaspandana’,” the leader added.

Janothsava, which was originally scheduled to take place on 28 July, was called off at a midnight press conference chaired by Bommai following the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru.

The grand event was then rescheduled for 8 September. It had to be postponed once again following the death of Umesh Katti — a minister in Bommai’s Cabinet — on 6 September.

Poster for Janaspandana- the rebranded event by BJP scheduled to be held on 10 September. (Supplied)

Meanwhile, the decision to change the name from a “celebration” to a “response” came after the Basavaraj Bommai government faced severe criticism for excessive flooding in Bengaluru.

BJP national president  Jagat Prakash Nadda is expected to be the guest of honour at the event.

All three times that the event was scheduled, Minister for Health and Medical Education Dr K Sudakar was put in charge of organising the event at Doddaballapur.

“This won’t be an official launch of our election campaign, but will mark the process of highlighting our schemes and those of the Union government,” Kumar said.

Making a list of state and Centrally sponsored welfare schemes and going door to door with it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice to Karnataka BJP unit leaders when he visited Mangaluru earlier this month.