Bangalore : Janata Dal(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Friday launched the party’s statewide tour, ‘Janapara janata yatre’, from Bangalore in the hope of seeing a repeat of the 1994 Assembly elections when the party led by him came to power in Karnataka.

Before beginning the yatre, Gowda made it a point to perform almost all the rituals he had performed about 18 years ago. Apart from the Ganapati homa, Gowda, along with his wife Chennamma, offered a special pooja at Gavigangadhareshwara temple in Basavanagudi. He is also said to have planned his two-month tour, exactly the way it was done in 1994, sources said.

A 14-member core committee, comprising leaders of all castes and communities, has been formed to plan and lead the tour. Besides, community-specific public rallies of the SC/ST, backward classes and the minority communities are being planned across the State.