Big guns to campaign for BJP, Congress in Karnatataka from this week

BENGALURU: With less than four weeks remaining for the first of the two-phase voting in Karnataka in LS polls, BJP and Congress have lined up big guns to launch targeted campaigns in swing seats, reports BV Shivashankar.

Amit Shah will launch BJP campaign Tuesday with a roadshow in Channapatna. BJP's star campaigners include CMs Yogi Aditya Nath, Himant Biswa Sarma & Pramod Sawant.

Congress, riding high on a big win in 2023 state polls, is counting on Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Priyanka, Mallikarjun Kharge, CM Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar to lead the charge.

BJP and Congress are all set to carpet bomb the state with their national leaders with high decibel campaigning set to begin for the Lok Sabha elections. Union home minister Amit Shah will launch the party's campaign on Tuesday with a roadshow in Channapatna, which is a part of Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency.

Bangalore Rural has emerged as one of the high profile constituencies thanks to the spirited face-off between cardiologist Dr CN Manjunath, who is contesting as BJP candidate despite being the son-in-law of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, and Congress MP DK Suresh. Suresh, the lone Congress MP from Karnataka, and had recently courted controversy with his remarks about creating a separate nation for southern states over the alleged injustice meted out to them by the Centre in terms of tax devolution.

"Shah will kickstart our campaign from Bangalore Rural to highlight the fact that the battle this time is between the party which is striving for the country's unity through initiatives like CAA and the forces out to divide it," said V Sunilkumar, BJP state general secretary and convener of campaign committee.

Counter move

Congress is prepared to counter it by planning to hold a roadshow led by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party president Rahul Gandhi in the same constituency at a later date. "We know why Shah has chosen Bangalore Rural. BJP and JD(S) cadre are not able to gel with each other in the constituency. Shah wants to camouflage it," said KPCC president DK Shivakumar.

Shah will also chair a joint meeting of senior functionaries of BJP and JD(S) on Tuesday. He will meet the representatives of the parliamentary constituencies in and around Bengaluru.

After having launched his campaign last month in Karnataka, in Gulbarga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second leg in Karnataka is being planned. Dates are being worked out for his rallies in Davanagere and Tumakuru.

Mandya, where former CM HD Kumaraswamy is contesting, has been chosen for a joint campaign by Modi and Deve Gowda. BJP's list of star campaigners comprises chief ministers Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pramod Sawant and Union ministers including Rajnath Singh and S Jaishankar.

Congress, which had planned a mammoth rally in Kurudumale in Kolar on March 29 to mark the launch of its campaign, had postponed it and fresh dates are being worked out, said former KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed. It is said the state unit wants either Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi to grace it along with Kharge. The party is planning to replicate the successful Prajadhvani Yatre campaign it had launched for 2023 assembly poll and is holding separate yatras for the two phases of the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.