Modi sounds K’taka poll bugle

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his interactive session with the Karnataka party leaders through his mobile app on Thursday gave a call to cleanse the mainstream political system by liberating from Congress culture. He said, "The mainstream of India's political culture is associated with Congress' misdeeds. Unless we liberate this mainstream from Congress culture, we cannot cleanse Indian politics.”

Prime Minister accused the Congress of spreading "lies and false"propaganda and dividing society along caste lines, as he sounded the bugle for the bitterly contested Karnataka Assembly polls.  Claiming that electors have resolved to usher in a change of Government in the Congress-ruled state, he said those who wished that party well had started a debate about a hung Assembly.

Modi who spoke few words in Kannada said his party’s main agenda was only development, development and development. "BJP has a three-pronged agenda for Karnataka--development, fast paced development, all round development, “ he told party leaders, office bearers and elected representatives through his interactive  mobile app."Our agenda is vikas, vikas, vikas (development,development and development)," he added.

Modi’s interaction is seen as crucial for the saffron party which is waging a fierce battle in the ensuing assembly polls in the state. The party is fully depending on the charisma of Modi and strategies of Party president Amit Shah. Even though Modi has frequented many poll campaigns earlier also, this interaction and  poll campaign has given impetus to party’s popularity to take on the ruling congress led by chief minister Siddaramaiah and his appeasement politics to the hilt.

 He said such "false" propaganda was spread even before the last Lok  Sabha poll which the BJP won with an absolute majority.  "A Government with absolute majority is needed to change Karnataka's destiny. India is shining in the world today only because we have a Government which has a complete majority at the Centre after 30 years," he said, and asked BJP workers to endeavor to achieve that goal in the only big state the Congress still rules apart from Punjab.

On the contentious issue of Lingayat split and giving separate religion status by Siddaramaiah government  Modi accused the ruling congress government of playing caste politics. He said “When elections come, these clever people (the Congress) offer lollipops to a caste group so they get busy with it and vote on emotion”. "When the next election comes, they leave that community and get hold of another caste group or community and give them a new lollipop. They keep changing and giving new lollipops every time and run their politics without any  accountability," he   added. Siddaramaiah government in a clever move divided Lingayats by giving minority status to them. Lingayats and Veerashaivas a dominant community in Karnataka will constitute over 17 per cent of the population and were the vote bank of the BJP.

"Like you, I am also a karyakarta (worker) from Karnataka. Believe this and move ahead. I am also a Kannadiga. Believe this and move ahead. I will work with you shoulder to shoulder," he told BJP workers.

On the poll surveys and fracture mandate theory Prime Minister has said it was a conspiracy.  He said "false propaganda" about a fractured  mandate, with BJP as the single largest party, was being spread as part of a "conspiracy". Most of the pre-poll surveys have  projected a cliffhanger of a contest in the only southern state where the BJP had its government once. They said the JD(S) of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda would play the role of a kingmaker after the polls.

 "So, you will have to fight against lies, false propaganda. As part of a conspiracy, efforts will be made to mislead you by hiring foreign agencies. Karyakartas (party workers) should not be shaken, their trust should not be shaken," he told party workers to decimate the  congress.      

"The Congress, after repeated defeat in elections, is spreading lies. Earlier, out of 50 things they said there were 5-10 lies. Now, out of the 50 things they say, 40-45 are lies and the rest five would also lack clarity," he said. PM was referring to Cambridge Analytica over alleged attempts by the Congress to use the data firm to influence the outcome of elections in India.