As the Karnataka Assembly election draws closer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the star campaigner for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), began a two-day visit to the southern state— his first after the saffron party announced its candidates — on April 30.
This is the prime minister’s ninth visit to the state since January 14. On each visit, PM Modi is scheduled to take part in more than three rallies and this frenetic pace set by the 71-year-old prime minister reflects the BJP’s mounting concern.
On Sunday, PM Modi addressed three rallies in Kolar, Channapattna and Belur districts.
Addressing a public meeting in Kolar, PM Narendra Modi targeted the Congress for comparing him to a snake and said the people would give the party a befitting reply in the upcoming Assembly elections.
“They are comparing me to a snake and seeking votes from people. But a snake is also coiled around the neck of Lord Shankar and is the charm of Lord Shankar’s neck. For me people of the country are like Lord Shankar. Hence, I accept being a snake on the neck of people of the country who are like Lord Shankar for me,” the Prime Minister said, referring to Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘venomous snake’ barb at him.
At a huge campaign rally in Chennapatna in Ramanagara district, the PM said that his radio show Mann Ki Baat hit a century on Sunday but the Congress leaders are busy competing with each other to complete a century of abuses against him.
Attacking the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress for bringing instability to Karnataka, PM Modi called the JD(S) the B-team of the Congress.
Each vote cast for the JD(S) is a vote for the Congress, PM Modi said, adding that although they come across as two different political parties but in reality they are one.
“They both promote dynastic politics, corruption and political opportunism. They are just interested in preserving their familial heritage and are not interested in the development of the people of Karnataka. Hence, all the votes cast for the JD(S) will benefit the Congress,” he stated.
It is interesting to note that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had called the JD(S) the B-team of the BJP during the 2018 assembly elections.
Stating that both the Congress and the JD(S) have viewed Karnataka as an ‘ATM Machine’, appropriating all funds and depriving the people of the state, PM Modi said, “The BJP sees Karnataka as an important growth engine of the country. This election is very special and will decide the State’s development for the next 25 years. This election is about making Karnataka the number one state, and only BJP can do it,” he said in Ramanagara district where former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy is contesting former BJP Minister CP Yogeshwar.
In 2018 assembly polls, the JD(S) won three of the four seats in Ramanagar district, an important Vokkaliga dominated district in Old Mysuru region.
According to the PM’s itinerary, he is expected to hold as many as 22 rallies across the state till May 7, news agency ANI reported.
The Prime Minister is making three visits to Bengaluru which accounts for 28 of the total 224 seats in Karnataka Assembly.
While he would be holding roadshows on separate days in Bengaluru North and Bengaluru Central parliamentary constituency areas, he will also address a public convention in Bengaluru South. His campaign in the state will come to an end on May 7 with a roadshow in Bengaluru Central parliamentary constituency.
The Congress campaign
Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress on Sunday launched the ‘CryPM campaign’ after party leader Priyanka Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Modi’s remarks about verbal abuse against him.
“It is @narendramodi who asks for votes by telling his problems without listening to people’s pain. Have you forgotten that the job of a Prime Minister is to talk about and solve people’s problems? Our leaders Siddaramaiah and Parameshwar were physically attacked by you guys. We never made it an issue! #CryPMPayCM”, Karnataka Congress tweeted.
The Congress also alleged that during his campaign in Chennapatna, PM Modi was felicitated by a rowdy-sheeter Muddu Krishna who is an accused in a double-murder case.
The Congress party took to social media and shared a picture of Krishna giving a memento to the prime minister on the dais in Channapatna.
The grand old party accused the saffron outfit saying that the BJP is the only party where rowdy-sheeters and murder accused get to share the dais with the Prime Minister.
While the BJP believes Modi’s charisma and connect with voters remains the party’s greatest strength, but will his ideology of strident Hindu nationalism, blended with promises of economic development, remain a big draw with voters in Karnataka? That still remains to be seen and it will be known only on May 13, when the results are declared.
Karnataka opinion polls suggest Congress win
A pre-poll survey conducted by a Kannada media outlet Eedina showed a clear win for Congress party defeating the BJP in the upcoming elections.
The survey predicted that Congress will win 132-140 seats with a vote share of 43 per cent. And, this could be Congress’s best performance in the last three decades, it added.
BJP is predicted to win 57-65 seats, with a vote share of 33 per cent. For comparison, BJP won 104 seats in the 2018 assembly elections.
The survey added that the saffron party could witness its worst performance in the last two decades, except 2013 when the party was split.
In another pre-poll survey, India Today-CVoter predicted on Monday that the BJP is expected to get just 74-86 seats, down 24 from what the party had got in 2018. The saffron party is expected to get a 35 per cent vote share, down from 36.35 per cent in 2018.
The Congress, on the other hand, is likely to bag 107-119 seats with a 40 per cent vote share. The grand old party is expected to gain 33 seats this time. Congress leader Siddaramaiah is the most favoured leader (42 per cent) for the chief minister’s post followed by BJP’s Basavraj Bommai (31 per cent), according to the polls. The Janata Dal (Secular) is expected to win 23-35 seats with a 17 per cent vote share. Others are expected to win 0-5 seats.
The BJP has announced 222 candidates for the polls to the 224-member Karnataka assembly scheduled to be held on May 10. The results will be declared on May 13. The party needs to cross the halfway mark of 113 in order to form the government in the state.
Row over Congress manifesto
Meanwhile, in its manifesto for the assembly polls in Karnataka, the Congress equated banned Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) with Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Sangh-affiliated Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The party promised a ban on organisations that promote hatred either among the majority or the minority communities.
The proposal naming right-wing outfit Bajrang Dal evinced a stern response from the BJP. Referring to the proposal in the manifesto, party leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Congress was indulging in Mulsim appeasement ahead of polls. “The manifesto launched by Congress today shows that it is a complete Muslim fundamentalist manifesto. Even if Jinnah was alive, he would not make such a manifesto. Congress has become a Muslim fundamentalist party. Our HM had banned PFI and now Congress is saying that they will ban Bajrang Dal…”
The issue also figured in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at a rally in Karnataka’s Hospet. “First they locked Lord Ram and now they want to lock up those who chant Jai Bajrang Bali. It is unfortunate,” the PM said.