With the Karnataka Assembly elections set to take place on 12 May, the election campaigns of various political parties have gained momentum in the state.
The state is crucial for the Congress as Karnataka is one of the party's last bastions. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is vying for a comeback in the state after it was defeated by the Congress in the 2013 Assembly elections in Karnataka. Faced with dwindling prospects in Uttar Pradesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also eyeing a victory in the upcoming elections in Karnataka.
BJP president Amit Shah began his tour of the old Mysuru region on Friday, covering the districts of Mysuru, Chamarajanagara, where BJP had not won a single seat in the previous election.
File image of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Twitter @INCIndia
Shah had attacked Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and the JD(S) while addressing the party's 'Nava Shakti Samavesha' rally, saying, "It is said that the BJP is a bit weak here (Old Mysuru region), but after seeing the work of the party workers, I expect Siddaramaiahji and the JD(S) to get the biggest shock of their lives from this region."
The BJP president was expected to tour the Belagavi district, including Kitturu, Nandagada, Belagavi, Kudchi, Nippani and Gokak, on Monday, but the programme has been cancelled.
Shah is also expected to tour the districts of Belagavi, Bagalakote and Haveri in the coming days as part of the party's election campaign in poll-bound Karnataka.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also expected to hold meetings and roadshows in Karnataka as the party prepares for a tough fight in the upcoming elections in the state.
The state elections are the next big political event for the Congress which is battling anti-incumbency and facing a tough challenge from the BJP.
Much like the Gujarat Assembly election, it appears that religious symbolism is likely to be a recurring theme in the political campaign in Karnataka as well.
In the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections, Rahul had visited around 25 temples in the state in a bid to dispel the impression of his party being hostile to Hindu interests.
The party had sought to repeat the same strategy in Karnataka with visits to a Hindu temple and other religious places in the state. The party's local leadership tried to defend Rahul over his temple visits, saying that there was nothing new in visits by the Gandhi family to temples in Karnataka.
Rahul's visits to temples had also received support from Thiruvananthapuram Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who contended that the temple visits come in a context where the BJP is saying that they are the "good Hindus" and everybody else is bad. "Why should we cede this narrative to them? To my mind, we may as well show publicly what we have been doing privately," Tharoor had said.
Following the Congress president's temple run, BJP national president Amit Shah had also embarked upon a visit to South India’s famous Gurudwara in Bidar, besides visiting Buddha Vihara and Veerabhadreshwara temple in the district.
The Congress had received a shot in the arm when seven former rebel MLAs from the JD(S) headed by Deve Gowda, had joined the ruling Congress in the presence of Rahul. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cheluvaraya Swamy, Iqbal Ansari, Balakrishna, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, Bheema Nayak and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy were welcomed into the party fold by Gandhi at a public rally in Mysuru.
Rahul is expected to begin the party's campaign trail in Karnataka from Shivamogga, the stronghold of BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, and Davanagere on Tuesday, where he will hold a roadshow and meeting.
The Congress president is expected to hold a meeting and rally in Chitradurga this week. Rahul is also likely to hold a meeting with the Sree Siddaganga Matha at Tumakuru in Karnataka.
The Congress president may visit the Davanagere and Chitradurga districts on Wednesday, where he is likely to hold a roadshow and conduct a meeting.
Rahul is expected to hold a meeting and rally in Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Magadi on Saturday and head to Bengaluru and Bengaluru Rural on Sunday to continue the party's election campaign.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati was also expected to hold a rally in Karnataka's Hasana. However, the programme has been cancelled.
BSP had entered into a pre-poll alliance with the JD(S) ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. According to reports, BSP insiders had indicated that the alliance with the JD(S) was geared towards strengthening the BSP's base in Karnataka with Mayawati's fortunes dwindling in Uttar Pradesh.
Published Date: Apr 02, 2018 12:01 PM | Updated Date: Apr 02, 2018 12:07 PM