Keep a close eye on party rebels in Karnataka, Amit Shah tells vistaraks

BJP chief election strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is said to have directed vistaraks to keep a strict vigil on movement of rebels in the state and provide him (his team) minute-to-minute updates in order to chalk out counter-strategy.

A senior leader told DH that Shah, who chaired vistaraks meeting ahead of party leaders' meeting at a private hotel on Friday late night, took a first-hand report from vistaraks on the threat posed by rebels and its impact on party’s prospects in the election.

"Shah told vistaraks to keep a tight vigil on the movement of all rebels in the party, including whom they are meeting and whether they are trying to neutralize BJP leaders at the local level or trying to win them over to their side. All these issues must be tracked and updated to him or to his team instantaneously as the party needs to chalk out a counter strategy," the source said.

Also Read | Amit Shah confident of BJP win in Karnataka, says Rahul should not play 'victim' after disrespecting OBCs

He reportedly directed the leaders to come up with strategies to defeat former Dy CM Laxman Savadi in Athani and former CM Jagadish Shettar in Hubballi-Dharwad Central assembly seats. "All rebels must be taught a lesson and the party cannot spare Shettar and Savadi as their defeat will be a lesson for other rebels too in the days to come,” the source said.

The Union minister reportedly directed party leaders to reach out to mutts of communities, religious leaders and influencers in order to organise and expand its voter base across communities instead of focusing only on a single community.

A senior leader told DH "Shah for now is okay with the party’s plan to highlight the Lingayats as next chief minister but party leaders must also take care that it should not hurt the other communities in the state. Therefore, leaders must start reaching out to each and every community in the state.”

The vistaraks suggested Shah that the party must carve out separate strategies to reach out its voter base in each region separately. "Karnataka and its voters cannot be seen as a single entity and these voters and regions behave uniquely in their own way," the source said.

The vistaraks told the meeting that the party should organise more rallies of Prime minister Narendra Modi and central leaders, where BJP is fighting tight battles. "There are at least 30 seats in the state where election results can make or break for either BJP or Congress party. Hence, we need to ensure that high-profile rallies by PM Modi or UP CM Yogi Adityanath and central leaders are organised to tilt the balance in the BJP’s favour," the source said.