Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a mega roadshow in Karnataka capital Bengaluru, four days ahead of the Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled southern state.

PM Modi’s 26 kilometer long roadshow kicked off from Someshwar Bhavan RBI Ground in Bengaluru South and culminated at  Sankey Tank in Malleshwaram after about three hours even as a massive crowd waving BJP flags and the Prime Minister’s portraits on placards, was witnessed lined up on both sides of the road, who waved and cheered as he the rally passed by.

According to reports PM Modi’s road rally passed through parts of south and central Bengaluru while covering around a dozen Assembly segments.

Bengaluru South MP, Tejasvi Surya, and Bengaluru Central MP, PC Mohan, accompanied PM Modi on the roadshow who was seen mounted atop a specially designed vehicle as he greeted and waved at the enthusiastic crowd amid deafening chants of ‘Modi, Modi’, ‘Jai Bajarangbali’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, and slogans in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Flower petals were showered at the Prime Minister at several places along the route who reciprocated the gestured by showering the petals back at the ecstatic crowd.

Karnataka BJP sources claimed that tens of thousands of people had lined up on both sides of the road to welcome the Prime Minister.

Visuals from the roadshow showed the entire 26 km stretch decorated with BJP flags on either sides of the road while thousands workers and supporters of the party wearing saffron caps and shawls, marched along amid tight security

The BJP on Friday had modified PM Modi’s two-day roadshow in Bengaluru in view of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam.

The mega road rally was divided into a two-day event, a large roadshow today and a shorter one tomorrow (May 7) to avoid any inconvenience to the public, according to BJP sources.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Union Minister Smriti Irani, who is campaigning in Karnataka for the upcoming assembly elections, said she has once seen Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offering namaaz in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru, the BJP leader said those who keep faith in Islam and offer namaaz, don’t do idol worship and maybe this is the reason that Congress’ top leadership didn’t allow the construction of Ram Mandir.

Irani said the incident dates back to 2019, before the Lok Sabha elections. She claimed that Priyanka Gandhi offered namaaz in Amethi ahead of the elections and later visited Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. 

She further attacked Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar and said he should not make false promises of building a temple in the state, because clearly, the Congress is not coming to power in the state. She also tauntingly asked Kumar if he had asked for permission from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra before promising a temple to the people. 

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Campaigning fiercely for BJP, Irani also said that the BJP has promised to give 5 lakh houses to the urban poor, and the PM gives the keys to the houses to the women only. 

Taking a dig at the Congress, Irani continued that the party had a problem with Lord Rama and now, they have a problem with Hanuman also. She added that she wanted to ask that if someone takes the name of Lord Bajrangbali on stage, will Congress leaders go and complain about him or her to the Election Commission?

Since the election campaigning in Karnataka has been going on, the parties are fighting for the centre stage by taking jibes at the other contesting parties, by bringing religion, and politics to the campaigning strategies.

While the BJP claims that it will retain power in the state with a full majority, Congress is confident of winning over the Bommai-led government.

The Karnataka assembly elections have the voting scheduled for May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.

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The veteran Congress leader, Sharad Pawar took back his resignation as the NCP President on Friday after a committee of senior party leaders passed a resolution to reject it.

Sharad Pawar, in a statement, said his supporters and voters have been with him for so many years so he cannot reject their sentiments. He revoked his decision to retire from the post of part president.

The 82-year-old leader clarified that even though he is continuing in the post of Presiden, he is of the clear opinion that there has to be a succession plan for any post or responsibility in the organisation.

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He also hinted at making organisational changes in the party, assigning new responsibilities, and creating new leadership.

On Tuesday, Pawar announced his decision to step down as the NCP chief and also named the members of the panel which included senior leaders like Anil Deshmukh, Praful Patel, Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, and others.

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