PM sounds poll bugle, woos Lingayats

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit the road across four districts in Karnataka on Monday, stepping up the BJP's poll campaigning.

Besides Bengaluru, Modi held rallies in Humnabad (Bidar), Kudachi (Belagavi) and Vijayapura, all Lingayat dominant belts. This comes amid Congress's scathing attack on the BJP for "insulting" Lingayat leaders like Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi who recently quit the party.

Playing the community card, Modi invoked Basavanna in Vijayapura, saying the saffron party was committed to fulfilling the 12th century saint's ideals. "The BJP's motto, 'Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas' is a testimony to this," he said.

Modi began his speech in Kannada seeking a majority for the BJP.

In an apparent dig at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Modi in Humnabad said the more the Opposition leaders threw mud at BJP, the better the 'lotus' would blossom. He was indirectly hinting at Kharge's recent remarks about Modi being a "venomous snake".

He claimed that the Congress had targeted him 91 times by using such abusive words. "Congress is wasting time in preparing a dictionary of abusive words against me. I have got a list of such words. The party would not have reached such a dismal position in the country had it given enough attention to good governance and motivated its party workers," Modi said.

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He said the Congress has a history of insulting great leaders who had dedicated themselves for the growth of the nation and added that people have punished the party every time it made such a personal jibe. "Congress has not spared even leaders like Dr B R Ambedkar and Veer Savarkar, he added.

Seeking a clear majority for the BJP, he lashed out at the previous Congress-JD(S) government and said it had always interfered with the effective implementation of programmes like PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi.

After holding three back-to-back rallies in poll-bound Karnataka, Modi ended his day on Saturday by leading a massive 5.3 km long road show that drew huge crowds from about 11 Assembly constituencies in the city.

Flanked by Bangalore North MP D V Sadananda Gowda, a Vokkaliga and BJP MLC and SC morcha president C Narayanaswamy and sporting a saffron cap, Modi rode in a specially designed vehicle Vijaya Vahini.