Set to throw a ‘serious challenge’ at the Congress in Karnataka in the Assembly election next year, the BJP has drawn up a 75-day detailed campaign across the State by way of poll rallies which will culminate on January 18 with the address of Prime Minster Narendra Modi.
As poll momentum picks up in Gujarat, with 15-day ‘Guarav Yatra’ ending in Gandhinagar on Monday with an aggressive speech by Modi against the Congress, and Himachal Pradesh already on the roll, the BJP is readying for an ‘evenly balanced’ Karnataka polls with ‘Nav Karnataka Parivartan Rally’ in 234 Assembly constituencies in the State.
BJP’s election-in-charge of Karnataka and Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar will be travelling to Karnataka later this month from October 27 to 28 to attend state executive meeting as also to oversee the poll preparations including that of the rally, sources said.
The party has over last three years found way with galvanizing votes in the poll-bound states through ‘Yatras’ dotted with rallies. The party has varying themes for states, suiting the issues and electoral mood in a particular state. If it was ‘Gaurav Yatra’ in Gujarat, then the ‘Parivartan Yatras’ in Uttar Padesh and Uttarakhand created a favourable poll atmosphere for the party. In Kerala, where the party is digging in its heels , BJP President Amit Shah, had this month, led ‘Jansuraksha yatra’ to create public opinion against the ruling CPM.
In continuation of the prolonged election rallies and ‘Yatras’, BJP will carry out the 75-day ‘Nav Karnataka Parivartan rally’, beginning November 2 at Bangalore in presence of Shah.
“leader of Opposition in legislative council KS Eshwarappa and former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurapa would be together on the stage on November 2, with Shah,” sources said suggesting that all is well within Karnataka BJP. Eshwarappa, an influential Kurba (shepherd community) leader who has been deputy-chief minister under Jagdish Shettar-led BJP government from 2012 to 2013, had earlier picked up a fight with Yeddyurappa on the issue of appointments to district units.
The central leadership has now “made it absolutely clear” to Eshwarappa that there would be no change in the status of Yeddyurappa as Chief Ministerial candidate who would also be one of the main campaign faces for the party in the elections. While the former Chief Minister would be traversing the entire state as a campaigner during the 75 days, other state leaders would campaign in the designated areas or constituencies.
Prime Minister, as he did in Gujarat on Monday , would conclude the BJP rally next year when it would culminate on January 18. The state-wide rallies would draw focus of voters to the “failure” of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress Government in not fulfilling poll promises , particularly in controlling ‘ spiraling corruption’ and ‘lawlessness’, sources said.
The party feels that CM Siddaramaiah’s attempts to revive cases and ‘taint’ against Yeddyurappa may be counter-productive as the latter may earn ‘sympathy’ of lingyat voters .A number of central ministers may also be joining election rallies organized in different regions of the state.