BENGALURU: Although CM Siddaramaiah is scrambling to fund his party’s guarantees, the free bus travel scheme for women has become a blessing for Congress as it has spurred ‘temple tourism’ and helped the party play — unwittingly perhaps — its soft Hindu card.Taking advantage of the Shakthi scheme, people, especially women, have been thronging major Hindu temples in the state for the past week.While buses operated by the three state-owned transport utilities — KSRTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC — have been getting a robust response from women, those running to popular temple towns have been running packed.Transport authorities say there have been numerous queries from women asking if they could form all-women groups and book buses to visit temple towns of their choice.Countering accusations from BJP that the party is anti-Hindu, transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, who is overseeing implementation of the scheme, said Congress is the 'real proponent' of Hindutva.

"The real Hindu is one who worships god while respecting other religions," Reddy said.

"This has been made possible by the Congress government.

Congress is committed to protecting Hindus and ensuring their development."Nearly 1.

2 crore women have travelled in state-run buses since the scheme was launched on June 11.

Congress is upbeat over the rush and is hoping it will translate into votes in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

The scheme is estimated to cost the state exchequer about Rs 4,400 crore a year.Besides increasing footfalls at temples, the scheme has also boosted the local economy in temple towns like Dharmasthala, Kukke Subramanya, Kollur Mookambika, Kateel Durgaparameshwari, Udupi Krishna Temple, Sringeri, Gokarna, and Horanadu.

The rush of devotees has been such that temple authorities have had to cook additional food for devotees, especially on weekends.Temples are seen as BJP’s turf.

The saffron party held protests when Congress suggested it would ban Bajrang Dal in its manifesto.

The Shakti scheme has ensured temples get a regular stream of devotees, boosting their revenues.