Bangalore: The Bharatiya Janata party's (BJP) Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi began his poll campaign in Bangalore by congratulating prominent scientist CNR Rao and Sachin Tendulkar for receiving the Bharat Ratna award.
This is Modi's second biggest public meeting after the 'Hoonkar' rally in Patna, in October. The Karnataka BJP has made elaborate arrangements to make it a big success. According to state BJP leaders at least four lakh people from across the state are attending attending the rally at the Bangalore Palace Grounds.
Interestingly the cut-outs and banners welcoming Modi to Karnataka put out by former chief minister and the KJP chief BS Yeddyurappa have sprung up near the Palace Grounds. Yeddyurappa, who quit the BJP a year ago to float his own party the KJP has already pledged his support to Modi.
According to state leaders, even though the BJP has not invited him to the rally, if he comes on his own, the party is ready to allow him to sit on the stage. Yeddyurappa is eager to merge his party with the BJP. But, the party patriarch LK Advani, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and his arch rival in state politics Ananthkumar are not very keen on taking him back.
People to close to these leaders say that Yeddyurappa's return to the party will once again allow the Congress to attack the BJP on corruption, which these leaders want to avoid.
According to political analysts and the BJP leaders, Narendra Modi is expecting a large number of Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka, UP and Bihar to realize his dream of becoming the Prime Minister. Last time, Karnataka delivered 19 Lok Sabha seats to the saffron party in the 2009 polls.
The BS Yeddyurappa led BJP was in power in the state at that time. But, the BJP was leading in just two Lok Sabha seats in the recent Assembly elections. State BJP leaders hope that Modi's rally will boost the sagging morale of party workers across the state.
The state BJP is trying to exploit the disenchantment among the people against the Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. His alleged minority and backward class appeasement policies seem to have angered the upper caste people in the state.
The BJP is targeting the Lingayats with 18 per cent, Vokkaligas with 12 per cent and the Brahmins with 4 per cent of the state's population and other smaller castes put together another 3-5 per cent of the population, which they believe are upset with the current government.
The Siddaramaiah government's decision to start a scheme called 'Shaadi Bhagya' only for the Muslims, the introduction of a free state tour programme only for the minority and backward class children studying in high schools and a proposed bill against the superstition have led to statewide protests in the recent weeks.
It is now being seen as an attempt to divide the poor children on caste and religious lines. Narendra Modi is expected to make a reference to these issues in his speech.
Comments
0 comment