Bangalore: BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will be addressing a mega election rally in Bangalore on Sunday. The event is expected to be the second biggest public meeting after the 'Hoonkar' rally in Patna in October.
Taking this into consideration, 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 will attend the rally at the Bangalore Palace Grounds.
Modi will arrive in Bangalore at 10 AM. He is expected to reach the venue by a helicopter by 11 AM. State BJP leaders say he will speak for an hour after 1 PM. The Bangalore City Police have made foolproof security arrangements for his public meeting. Bangalore Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar is personally monitoring the security arrangements. The Centre has also asked the state to provide a tight security for Modi's rally. Over 5000 police constables and 10 DCPs will be handling the security. Traffic on the Airport road will also be blocked between 6 o'clock in the morning and 6 o'clock in the afternoon.
Interestingly the cut-outs and banners welcoming Modi to Karnataka put out by former chief minister and the KJP chief B S 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 L K 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 B S 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%, Vokkaligas with 12% and the Brahmins with 4% of the state's population and other smaller castes put together another 3-5% 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.
The BJP is hoping that the policies of the Congress government will polarize the votes in favour of Narendra Modi. According to a top state leader of the BJP, it has prepared a list of issues concerning Karnataka for Modi's reference. It is also trying to avoid any gaffe during his speech by giving him a detailed brief on the state. The state BJP is expecting Modi to attack the Congress government in the state.
The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reacted to the rally saying that even half a dozen Modi's can't revive the BJP in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike (KKSV), a Left leaning forum of secular elements is organising a procession against Narendra Modi's visit to Karnataka. The procession will start at Majestic area at 10 o'clock in the morning. The KKSV will address a meeting at the Town Hall after 1 o'clock. The KKSV alleges that the Bangalore Police have reluctantly given them the permission to take out a procession against Narendra Modi's visit. Noted journalist Gauri Lankesh is leading the procession.
Comments
0 comment