New Delhi: Senior BJP leader LK Advani, who has been on the road for 12 days now, taking his strong anti-corruption message from state to state, will skip Bangalore. His rally, which was scheduled for October 30 in Bangalore, sources say, has been opposed by the Karnataka state unit with the supporters of former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa upset with Mr Advani over his comments in Nagpur.
On Tuesday, Mr Advani broke his silence on the arrest of Mr Yeddyurappa and admitted that the BJP could not win the battle of perception without putting its own house in order. "We never take any party weakness lightly and we proved the same in Karnataka. We had cautioned them in advance but when the Lokayukta report came out, he had to resign immediately. We are fully aware of the fact that no party can effectively win the confidence of the people against the present corruption of the Congress party if its own house is bedevilled with similar weaknesses," he had said in Nagpur.
Mr Yeddyurappa was arrested and sent to judicial custody on October 15 in alleged land scam cases. The Lokayukta Court today extended his judicial custody till November 3.
Mr Advani's 'Jan Chetna Yatra', even though it will skip Bangalore, would continue in the coastal parts of the state - Mangalore, Udupi and Honnavara - on October 31, party sources said.
There would be no change in the public rally to be held on November 1 at Ankola, the last stop of the yatra in Karnataka, before it enters neighbouring Goa, sources added.