BJP plans Modi’s marathon rallies in poll-bound K’taka

Nominations for the May 10 elections will be over on April 20, and the rallies and public meetings are expected to pick up pace soon after.

Rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) biggest crowd puller and most popular face, will be the highlight of the BJP’s campaign blitzkrieg for the elections to pick a new assembly in Karnataka.

In 2018 Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 21 rallies, said a state leader. (ANI)

In addition to the PM’s rallies, the party has also lined public meetings by senior leaders including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath.

According to people aware of the details, the PM is expected to address 15 to 20 big rallies across the state, the details of which will be announced soon. Nominations for the May 10 elections will be over on April 20, and the rallies and public meetings are expected to pick up pace soon after.

“In 2018 the PM addressed 21 rallies, and that galvanised the cadre and the voters and his outreach helped steer the party towards victory. He is immensely popular in the state, particularly among the younger lot and we are expecting huge turnout for his rallies,” said a state leader who asked not to be named.

In 2018, the BJP’s election campaign was built around issues such as corruption, crisis in the agriculture sector, farmers’ suicides, and water scarcity in the state, particularly in Bangalore. In his speeches five years ago, Modi targeted the Congress for perpetrating dynastic politics, for fostering corruption, lawlessness, and for failing to tame the crisis in the agriculture sector.

“The PM not only drew huge crowds, but his speeches had a huge impact. In a stinging attack against the Congress’s misrule, he spelt out how the state was suffering, whether it was in Kolar, Chikmagalur, Gulbarga, Shivamogga or Chitradurga,” the leader said.

Adityanath, who is among the most sought after campaigners in the state, is also expected to address a dozen-plus rallies. “He has a huge following in the state since there are followers of the Nath sect, which he comes from. Even the Lingayats show reverence towards the Nath sect,” the leader quoted above said.

HT tried to reach out to Congress leaders for a comment but didn’t receive it immediately.