S.M. Krishna jathre stalls airport traffic

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Former external affairs minister S.M. Krishna received a rousing welcome on his return to Bengaluru but his comeback did leave air travellers in a spot with traffic on the road leading to the airport disrupted for more than four hours.

With 5,000 of his supporters arriving in 550600 vehicles to greet him and insisting that he travel in an open vehicle from the airport to his Sadashivanagar home, this was no surprise.

Businessman Shehzade Nazir (45), who had to reach the airport to pick up his relatives from Malaysia, was unable to reach the terminal till 5.20 pm and was stranded on the road for an hour.

Mr Krishna said he was humbled on seeing such a huge crowd. On his impending return to state politics, the veteran Congressman said: “I've travelled 8 lakh km in the last three-and-a-half years, I am tired. I will announce my plans in a few days.“ State JD(S) president H.D. Kumaraswamy said his party will not face any threat because of the comeback of S.M. Krishna to Karnataka politics. Addressing the media in Dharwad, Mr Kumaraswamy said his party will maintain equi-distance from Congress and BJP and expressed confidence that JD(S) will come to power with a clear majority in the next Assembly elections. “We have a strong presence in the old Mysore.

Therefore, Mr Krishna's entry into state politics will not adversely affect our votebank,“ he said. He was confident that JD(S) will win at least 140-150 Assembly seats in the polls and said his party will not forge an alliance with other parties if it fails to come to power on its own. He claimed that JD(S) will win 40-50 seats in North Karnataka alone. Ridiculing former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa's advice to his loyalist ministers to stay in BJP till the government completes its full term, Mr Kumaraswamy said it is merely an attempt to mobilise more funds for the elections.