Narendra Modi goes to bat for BJP in Karnataka with election rally blitz

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address 15 Karnataka election rallies in five days, before voting day on May 12.

Starting 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.

PM Modi was in Karnataka last on February 27 when he addressed an election rally in Davangere.(Reuters/File Photo)

Modi will be in Karnataka on May 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8, addressing three rallies a day.

BJP spokesperson S Prakash told HT, “PM Modi’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 be hoping that the Prime Minister’s popularity and charisma will help it get closer to the halfway mark of 113 seats in the 224-member assembly.