PM Modi to kick off BJP's poll campaign from Kharge's home turf Kalaburagi today

PM Modi will arrive in Karnataka's Kalaburagi - Congress President Kharge's home turf - at around 2 pm to launch the BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign.

Updated on: Mar 16, 2024, 09:52:56 IST

By Yamini C S

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to launch the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Lok Sabha poll campaign today, starting from Congress National President M Mallikarjun Kharge's home turf in Karnataka, Kalaburagi. PM Modi will arrive in the southern state on Saturday afternoon at around 2 pm to address a mega rally in Kalaburagi's N V Ground.

PM Narendra Modi will address a mega public meeting in Karnataka's Kalaburagi this afternoon. (YouTube/Narendra Modi)

Kharge had fought the 2019 general election from Kalaburagi - the Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency - when he had lost to BJP's Umesh Jadhav. This was his first electoral loss after a political career stretching across decades. The saffron party has once again decided to field Jadhav from the seat, where it has disrupted the Congress party's historical dominance.

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After Kharge's loss in 2019, the grand old party is in talks to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani instead, who is a businessman. "The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha's hands are full. In addition to managing party affairs at the national level, he has to coordinate with INDIA bloc partners", a senior party leader had said in the matter.

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PM Modi is starting off the BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign from the south, and is scheduled to be in party veteran B S Yediyurappa's home district, Shivamogga, on March 18.

The BJP, which lost to Congress in the May 10 assembly election in Karnataka, is looking to regain its foothold in the south. Regional party the Janata Dal (Secular) has also joined hands with the BJP to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with a united front. The JDS is expected to contest from three seats, namely Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.

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Senior BJP leaders including party National President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and others are also likely to visit various Lok Sabha constituencies for election campaigning in the near future.

(With inputs from PTI)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More

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