Bengaluru (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address public meetings at Mandya and Kolar in Karnataka on Wednesday for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

According to Congress sources, he is scheduled to land in Bengaluru around 1.20 pm from where he will go to Mandya by a chopper and address a poll rally at around 2.10 pm. He will then fly to Kolar to address a public meeting at around 4 pm.

Both Mandya and Kolar are going to polls in the first of the two-phase elections in Karnataka.

It is his first visit to the state after the poll schedule was announced a month ago.

Interestingly, the Congress is facing JD(S), which is BJP's ally, in both seats.

While it will be a direct contest between JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and Congress' Venkataramane Gowda, popularly known as 'Star Chandru' in Mandya, the fight is between Congress' K V Gowtham and M Mallesh Babu in Kolar.

While 14 constituencies in the southern part of the state will see polling on April 26, the second phase of voting in northern districts will be held on May seven.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Congress Working Committee met here on Friday and adopted a resolution alleging the integrity of the entire electoral process was being severely compromised against which the party would soon launch a movement.

In the resolution of the top body of the Congress, the party said free and fair elections is a Constitutional mandate that was being called into "serious question by the partisan functioning of the Election Commission".

The CWC, which met amid the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, said the session has been a washout so far because of the Narendra Modi government's "stubborn refusal" to have an immediate discussion on three pressing national issues -- "the recent revelations regarding corruption by a business group, and the violence in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal".

Asked why the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution does not name the business group, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "The answer is the Adani group".

"The CWC believes the integrity of the entire electoral process is being severely compromised. Free and fair elections is a Constitutional mandate that is being called into serious question by the partisan functioning of the Election Commission.

"Increasing sections of society are becoming frustrated and deeply apprehensive. The Congress will take these up these public concerns as a national movement," the resolution stated.

Addressing a joint press conference along with Ramesh and Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, party general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said the party discussed the political situation in the country for four-and-half hours and adopted the resolution.

He said the CWC has decided to constitute internal committees to look into electoral performance and organisational matters.

About the Assembly polls results in Maharashtra, Venugopal said the electoral outcome in the state was "beyond normal understanding and it appears to be a clear case of targeted manipulation".