With 15 rallies in 5 days, Modi to lead BJP’S lastminute campaign blitz
BENGALURU: Beginning Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address 15 rallies in five days across Karnataka ahead of assembly elections on May 12, underlining the importance of the poll outcome to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in power at the Centre.
Modi will be in Karnataka on May 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8, addressing three rallies a day.
BJP spokesperson S Prakash said, “PM’S entry is like (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni going into bat in the crucial few last overs of a match. His mere presence will make a difference. Given his huge personal appeal, we fully expect to get a boost to our campaign.”
With most pre-poll surveys indicating either a hung assembly or a slim majority for the ruling Congress in the state, the BJP is hoping that the PM’S popularity will help it get closer to the halfway mark of 113 seats in the 224-member assembly.
Modi will address a rally at Santhemarahalli in Chamarajanagar on Tuesday morning. He will then take a chopper to the coastal district of Udupi to address a meet and then to North Karnataka where he will address another rally at Chikkodi in Belgaum district at 6pm, before flying back later in the night to Delhi.
The outcome of the Karnataka election is key for two reasons. One, Karnataka is now one of only two big states (apart from Punjab) where the Congress is in power and a win there could see a resurgence for the party. Second, the results could likely set the tone for the other upcoming assembly contests in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, before the general elections in 2019.
Modi has not been to pollbound Karnataka in the last two months. He had addressed an election rally in Davangere on February 27. The Congress had taunted the BJP over Modi’s absence from the campaign, saying he was fearing defeat.
‘MODI WAVE TO HELP US’
Riding on a ‘Modi wave’, the BJP will form the next government in Karnataka with absolute majority, its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa said Monday.
Asked if the BJP’S alleged “communal politics” would work for it, Yeddyurappa said, “There is no such thing. Congress is spreading lies. There is only Modi wave and we are going to sweep not only the coastal region but the entire state.”
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PM’S entry is like (MS) Dhoni going into bat in the crucial last overs of a match. His mere presence will make a difference. Given his huge personal appeal, we expect to get a boost to our campaign.
S PRAKASH, BJP spokesperson