Electioneering has picked up for the crucial polls in Karnataka, and three major stakeholders, the BJP, the Congress, and the Janata Dal (Secular), are going full steam into the campaign.
The saffron party’s chief vote garners and the real trump card, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will address public meetings in Humnabad, Vijayapura and Kudachi on April 29.
On April 30, PM Modi’s roadshow in Mysuru is likely to be a replica of a mini Dasara procession showcasing the tradition and culture of the Mysuru region. With PM Modi plunging into the heat and dust of rallies and roadshows, the BJP is set to intensify its campaign blitzkrieg.
Sources say Modi will be welcomed traditionally with ‘poorna kumbha’ and over 30 folk art cultural troupes, including 100 member team of Nagaswara. He will be presented with ‘Mysore vilyedele’ (betel leaves) and other specialities of Mysuru. At a few junctions, over 30,000 people dressed up with traditional attires of the Mysuru region will welcome him. Moreover, the entire stretch of his roadshow of over 4 km will be designed with arches portraying the concept of ‘Man of Vision-Modi Nadedu Banda Daari’, depicting PM Modi’s life and contributions.
This is PM Modi’s ninth visit to Karnataka this year since February, and he will also cover important districts like Belagavi and Hassan.
While Humnabad is in Bidar district, from Bidar, PM will fly to Vijayapura, where he will address a public gathering in the afternoon on April 28. He will then fly to Kudachi in Belagavi district.
On April 29 evening, the Prime Minister will fly to Bengaluru to hold a road show in Bengaluru North.
On April 30, PM Modi will fly to Kolar and address a public meeting at around 11:30 am. He will then visit Channapatna in Ramanagara district. The Prime Minister will also visit the temple town of Belur in Hassan district.
The Karnataka assembly election for 224 seats will be held on May 10, and the votes will be counted on May 13.
Besides Modi, other top leaders are also fanning around key districts and assembly segments to woo voters in a contest the saffron party is making a determined bid to bounce back to power.
On April 29, BJP national president J P Nadda will hold a road show in Kalaghatagi, Dharwad district.
He will hold a roadshow in Mayakonda, Davanagere. In contrast, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a road show in Madikeri and address a public meeting at Katapdi in the Udupi district.
According to BJP sources, Shah will hold a road show in Byndoor, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address public meetings at Krishnaraja and a roadshow in Basavanagudi in the Bengaluru region.
Karnataka is the only southern state where the Saffron party has a strong presence and is in power.
The BJP is relying on Prime Minister Modi’s unique ability to connect with the voters who have surprised political experts and psephologists more than once.
Sources said the Karnataka BJP had divided the state into six regions to ease campaigning.
The Prime Minister will also likely campaign in Haveri, Bagalkot, Koppal and other districts, including Hubballi.
The formidable Lingayats form about 17 per cent of the state’s 6.6 crore population and were expected to sway public mood in at least 100 seats, especially in North Karnataka, Mumbai Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka region.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has exuded confidence about a certain win.
Former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is an important player in the massive support base for him and the saffron party among the electorally important Lingayat community. The Lotus party has also boosted its overall campaign strategy as popular actor Kichcha Sudeep has started campaigning for the BJP. Sudeep belongs to the Nayaka community, predominant in the Kalyana-Karnataka region.
Moreover, it will be the first of the many electoral battles this year post the hyped controversy around the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks against the OBC community.
The battle in Karnataka, according to diverse schools of thought, will also be seen as a popularity test of the Modi Government’s crusade against corruption and its policies based on its ‘ideology’ of building an India that is inclined towards the ‘nationalist and Hindutva philosophies’ of the RSS.
In 2018, in Karnataka polls, the BJP did well to emerge as the single largest party winning 104 seats, and the vote share was 36.22; the Congress could win 78 seats and 38.04 per cent votes. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party had managed to win 25 seats from Karnataka.
