Karnataka elections LIVE: Modi says INC will be renamed as Punjab, Puducherry and Parivar party after results

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Tumakuru on Saturday where he alleged that the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress were pretending to be fighting the Karnataka assembly elections in parts but were in tacit alliance.

Modi’s Tumakuru rally is followed by public meetings at Gadag, Shivamogga and Mangaluru on Saturday, his third tour of the state to campaign for the BJP candidates. The state goes to polls on May 12 and the results will be declared on May 15.

On Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is in the poll-bound state holding corner meetings, addressed rallies in Kalgi and Shiggaon, where he hit out at Modi for not addressing farmers’ issues.

Here are the live updates:

2.22pm: Congress is misleading people in the name of Mahadayi. What the Congress is doing is showing its true character and people should know about it, says Modi.

2.21pm: I wish the Karnataka CM would have asked Sonia Gandhi Ji about her 2007 promise on Mahadayi. If he would know of that promise he would not be misleading the people: PM

2.20pm: In 2007 in Goa, while seeking votes, the Congress incited the people of Goa. There, Sonia Gandhi had made a speech that Karnataka doesn’t get Mahadayi water. The CM would not even know which party he was in, in 2007. After all, changing parties is a habit of the Karnataka CM, says the Prime Minister.

2.18pm: Modi alleges that internal tender system working in the Congress delayed its ticket distribution process.

2.16pm: After the Karnataka election results, the Indian National Congress will be renamed as PPP party that , Modi says, stands for Punjab Puducherry and Pariwar Party.

2.15pm: The Congress can only loot Karnataka, they cannot do any thing else for the state: PM

2.12pm: Congress has set up a Mafia network across Karnataka. They excel in ‘Vasooli.’ Once Karnataka defeats the Congress, what will happen to the ‘Vasooli mafia’ : PM

2.11pm: Why the Congress is more scared now because its leaders and ministers here have made a huge tank that stores money leading to Delhi. If Karnataka goes, what will happen to the leaders in Delhi, says PM.

2.10pm: The Congress has lost in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, UP, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura...people across India have rejected the Congress. But they are more worried to face the loss here.

2.08pm: Congress has been telling lies and dividing society here in Karnataka. Everyday they do a new drama: PM.

2.07pm: The Congress is not bothered about the depletion of natural resources here. As long as the pockets of their leaders are full, Congress is happy. Congress sees corruption opportunities in the forests of Karnataka. Corruption is key to the existence of the Congress, says Modi.

2.05pm: The PM alleges that the Khadi and handloom sector has suffered in Karnataka under under the Congress government.

2.04pm: The Congress government in Karnataka is working only for ‘Naamdaars’ and not for ‘Kaamgaars’, says the PM.

2.03pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins address at Gadag in Karnataka.

12.05pm: Our government has started a battle against corruption and black money. There is no way we can tolerate corrupt practices, says PM.

12.03pm: The Centre has allocated fund for Tumakuru’s development under Smart Cities project, but the state government prefers to loot money rather than work for people’s welfare, says Modi.

11.55am: The Centre is working on water conservation, micro-irrigation and linking our waterways, which was a dream of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: PM

11.52am: Our government at the Centre has worked on irrigation projects on which no work had happened for 30 years. Some of these key projects are also in Karnataka, says PM.

11.48am: The Congress government lacks any concern for the farmers. Why are the people of Tumakuru not getting water from the Hemavati River, asks Modi.

11.47am: People of Karnataka need to know the Congress-JDS alliance. They pretend to fight in parts of Karnataka but in Bengaluru the JD(S) supported a Congress mayor, who is sitting in office. What is the deal between these two parties? asks PM Modi. The BJP is coming to power in the state, he says.

11.46am: Former PM Deve Gowda Ji said so much during the 2014 campaign about me, made several personal attacks. After the elections I said that he need not remember all that he said. Right now, the JD(S) is working towards saving the Congress in Karnataka, says the PM.

11.41am: Modi says the Congress is trying to offer false rhetoric and empty promises to the famers. The Congress’ neglect of the agriculture sector is very well known. I wish they were serious about the welfare of the farmers, he says.

11.40am: The problems the farmers are facing now are due to the wrong policies of the Congress governments in the past.

11.37am: The Congress has now stopped saying ‘Gareeb’ because the people of India have elected a person belonging to a poor family as their Prime Minister, says Modi.

11.36am: From the time of Indira Gandhi, the Congress has been fooling the poor to win elections, says Modi.

11.35am: Modi says saints, seers and mutts have played a strong role in the development of our nation. We are deeply inspired by them: PM

11.34am: This land of Tumakuru is home to several greats. After becoming PM, I had come here to Tumakuru and sought the blessings of Sri Sri Sri Sivakumar Swami Ji at the Sree Siddaganga Mutt, says Modi.

11.26am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Tumakuru.