JOIN USBJP president Amit Shah will visit Karnataka for three days from August 3 as he turns his attention towards the state ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.
Shah will interact with BJP office-bearers, MPs and MLAs to get a feedback on the organisational issues and preparedness for the Assembly elections. The BJP is keen on doing well in Karnataka, keeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind.
The BJP is banking on its performance in the Assembly polls in other states to bolster its ‘look south’ strategy. The BJP leaders here are preparing facts and figures on the Central assistance to Karnataka, which may be used by Shah to take on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on governance. The Central government had provided Rs 21,000 crore to state last year under the Centrally sponsored schemes but the Congress government in the state has just managed to spend half of the total amount, said BJP sources.
Recently, Union Minister Ananth Kumar had criticised the state government for not implementing initiatives of the Narendra Modi government. He had said that, as Chemical and Fertilisers minister, he had personally taken up with the chief minister for opening a drug store in each of the government hospitals for providing medicines prices 30% less than the MRP. Despite repeated reminders, the state has failed to respond to the move aimed at benefiting common people, Kumar had charged.