With the election fervour at its peak in Karnataka that goes to polls on May 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch his two-day state visit on Saturday. Modi is scheduled to address multiple public meetings and hold two roadshows.
According to his itinerary, Modi will first address a public meeting at Humnabad in Bidar district at 11 am. Modi will later address rallies in Vijayapura, Kudachi and Bengaluru North on Saturday. On Sunday, the prime minister will take part in rallies in Kolar, Channapattna and Belur. He will also hold a roadshow in Mysuru before returning to Delhi.
This is Modi's ninth visit to poll-bound Karnataka this year since February. In a significant push to the saffron party's efforts to retain power in the state, Modi will return to the other districts and his campaigning will continue till May 7.
Over six days, PM Modi will hold 12 to 15 public meetings and road shows, NDTV reported, quoting a source.
The BJP is leaving no stone unturned and national leaders including Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and Yogi Adityanath have been aggressively campaigning in the state that the party refers to as the 'gateway to the south'. Internal rumblings and defection of senior leaders to the Congress had rattled the Karnataka BJP after the list of candidates were declared earlier this month. Adding to the party's woes, multiple pre-poll surveys have also come as a dampener for the party that is reportedly fighting an anti-incumbency wave. The pre-poll surveys conducted by regional media houses last week predicted an edge for the Congress, indicating the possibility of a hung verdict in the Assembly election.
Congress versus BJP
Modi's campaigns also come at a time when the state is witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Opposition Congress. Both the parties have now approached the Election Commission seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side. While the BJP sought an FIR and a bar on campaigning by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress demanded restrictions on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Kharge is facing the heat over his comments on Modi in which he likened the PM to a 'poisonous snake' during one of the election rallies. Shah and Yogi have been accused of flaring communal passions and creating disharmony in the poll-bound state with their statements against minorities. Kharge later clarified that his remarks were not aimed at the prime minister but at the ruling BJP and its ideology.
In retaliation to Kharge's remarks, BJP MLA from Vijayapur Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Friday likened former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to a 'vishkanya' (venomous maiden).
In its appeal to the Election Commission, the Congress alleged that Shah and Adityanath made "false", "partisan" and "communal" statements during the poll campaign in Karnataka with a view to seek electoral gains.Â
