- PM Modi’s Bengaluru roadshows aim to double BJP tally in capital, tip scales in favour
- Both the roadshows where PM Modi will be the star campaigner will pass through 19 of the total 28 Assembly constituencies in the city
- Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said the Prime Minister would now hold the roadshow on two days – 10 am to 1.30 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 2.30 pm on Sunday
R ARIVANANTHAM
BENGALURU, MAY 4
Having made a clean sweep in 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls by holding a marathon roadshow covering Ahmedabad urban and rural, the Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to replicate the same in Karnataka. The BJP on Thursday dropped plans to have an eight-hour road-show by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru on Saturday following concerns expressed by Bengalureans over difficulties that they will face with such a day-long programme.
https://twitter.com/BJP4Karnataka/status/1654084218090037248?s=20
The BJP is focusing on the 32 assembly seats in Greater Bengaluru (Urban and Rural) that it believes could make a big impact on the results.
“The PM office was buzzing with activity, even at 10pm in the night.. India always needed a strong PM like Modi.”
In today’s #ModiStory, Former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna shares his experiences with Modi, including a conversation on the Balakot airstrike. pic.twitter.com/etWHNAULRk
— Modi Story (@themodistory) May 4, 2023
Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said the Prime Minister would now hold a road-show on two days – 10 am to 1.30 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 2.30 pm on Sunday.
https://twitter.com/BJP4Karnataka/status/1654095060474949635?s=20
The party on Wednesday said Modi would hold a 36.6 km road-show here on Saturday — covering a distance of 10.1 km from 11 am to 1 pm, and 26.5 km from 4 pm to 10 pm. After the announcement, concerned citizens took to Twitter over expected traffic restrictions.
ಒಳಜಗಳ, ಭಿನ್ನಮತಗಳಿಂದ ನಲುಗಿರುವ @INCKarnatakaದ ಸ್ಟೇರಿಂಗ್, ಗೇರ್ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಬಸ್ಸು ಹಿಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಓಡುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಆದರೆ, ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ಶ್ರೀ @narendramodi ಅವರ ದೂರದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಡಬಲ್ ಎಂಜಿನ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಲ ಬಂದು, ನವ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣದತ್ತ ದಾಪುಗಾಲು ಇಡುತ್ತಿದೆ. #DoubleEngineVsReverseGear #PoornaBahumata4BJP pic.twitter.com/P1bIT1PcqA
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 4, 2023
“The public has expressed that it will be a problem if the road-show is held for the entire day. So, we have respected their feeling and spread it over two days”, Karandlaje told reporters on Thursday.
Party leaders said the road-shows on May 6 and 7 would pass through 19 of the total 28 Assembly constituencies in the city. Karnataka votes on May 10. May 8 is the last day for campaigning and the votes would be counted on May 13.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP won 11 of the 32 seats in Greater Bengaluru. In 2018, Congress won 15 seats and the JD(S) won four seats. This time, the BJP’s target is to win 20 of the 32 seats. Of the 32 seats in Bengaluru, 28 are urban and four are rural seats.
Party strategists believe since the BJP won all four Lok Sabha seats – North, South, Central and Rural – in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they have a good chance in the upcoming state polls.
On April 29, PM Modi covered nine assembly seats in North and Central Bengaluru.
Amit Shah and JP Nadda have done three roadshows each in the state capital. Along with this, many big leaders, including Hemant Biswa Sarma and G Kishan Reddy, have done roadshows and public meetings in Bengaluru.
The Shivajinagar assembly constituency, one of the oldest seats in the heart of Bengaluru, has been a bastion of sorts for the Congress. Of the 11 assembly elections in Karnataka since 1967, the party has won Shivajinagar six times. It has won the seat every time since 2008, including in a byelection in 2019.
Bangalore South, on the other hand, has been a BJP stronghold ever since the constituency came into being after the 2008 delimitation exercise. The BJP’s M Krishnappa won this seat in three consecutive elections.
Shivajinagar and Bangalore South are among the 16 constituencies that have stayed loyal to a party for three elections on the trot. Of the 16 seats, the BJP’s share stands at nine while seven have gone to the Congress in the last three elections.
