Karnataka Assembly Elections: BJP campaign to ride high on quota scrap for Muslims

The BJP is ramping up its campaigning, with just over a month left for the elections.

A three-layered feedback system to issue tickets, sprucing up 46,000 booth committees and highlighting withdrawal of 4 per cent reservation for Muslims under OBC category are part of the BJP's election efforts, senior leaders said.

By Friday, the party will have feedback and reports from all Assembly segments on aspirants and their probability of winning, by April 1-2, the leadership is holding meetings with district core committees, and by April 3-4, the state core committee is set to meet national leaders, sources said.

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Banking on PM rallies

Party general secretary incharge of the state Arun Singh said the party is organising key rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the state.

“The BJP is fighting the elections with a united leadership, and we will win full majority,” Singh said.

As many as 140 seats have been identified where the party will concentrate its resources on, a senior party MP from the state said. “There are 15-20 more seats with victory potential for us,” the leader said.

First list next week

The first list of party candidates will be issued after the meetings of district and state leaders and it is expected later next week.

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Leaders said that in all likelihood, 85-90 per cent of the party’s 119 MLAs will be repeated, with the next 100 seats being those where the party will experiment with new faces and future leaders.

A senior leader said that the national leadership increased its involvement in the state after internal feedback showed that the Congress might not cross 110.

With the move to withdraw 4 per cent reservation to Muslims from within the OBC community, the BJP has sought to increase its influence among Vokkaligas and Lingayats.

BJP general secretary (national) C T Ravi sought to dismiss criticism of the move and said the BJP has, in fact, “corrected” a wrong.

“No other state has religious reservation, which is unconstitutional,” Ravi said.

As for the party’s preparations, he said PM Narendra Modi will be the party’s face.

“There is a strong support for the PM, and we have former CM Yediyurappa, who is like Bheeshma for us,” Ravi said.

Modi and Amit Shah have already held 8-10 key rallies in the state. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis will be the star campaigners.

While Modi’s rallies in the party’s bastions of Davangere and Shivamogga drew good crowds, a surprising success in JD(S) pocket borough Mandya has now led the party to plan more rallies for Modi in the old Mysuru region, where the party is weak.

The 46,000 booth committees, as part of a village-level outreach, are gathering information on beneficiaries of BJP government schemes.