Bharatiya Janata Party central leaders are set to publicly campaign along with coalition partner Janata Dal (Secular) leaders for the first time on Tuesday when Union Minister and BJP strategist Amit Shah will embark on a roadshow in the Channapatna Assembly segment of the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency along with JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Mr. Shah, who is making his first visit to Karnataka after the announcement of election dates, is expected to provide a road map to the BJP-JD(S) alliance for the polls.
It is learnt that the coalition partners want to send a strong political message that they are keen to take the bull by the horns by taking out their first joint roadshow in the Bengaluru Rural constituency in which incumbent MP and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s brother D.K. Suresh is contesting as the Congress candidate. The idea is to draw political attention towards Mr. Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law and cardiologist C.N. Manjunath, who is the BJP candidate for the seat.
Mr. Shah has lined up a series of meetings to finalise the poll strategies on that day.
Before the roadshow, Mr. Shah is scheduled to have a breakfast meeting with the coordination committee of the coalition partners in which JD(S) top leaders, including the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, are expected to participate along with BJP seniors such as B.S. Yediyurappa, Govind Karjol, and Basavaraj Bommai, besides State president B.Y. Vijayendra.
Later, he would be addressing a meeting of representatives from the party’s Shakti Kendras, which are a combination of three booth-level units, from Bengaluru North, South, Central, and Rural Lok Sabha constituencies.
About 4,000 such representatives, including some from the JD(S), are expected to participate in the meeting which is being held at the Bengaluru Palace Grounds to sensitise them of the role to be played at the grassroots for the polls.
After the roadshow, Mr. Shah is scheduled to return to Bengaluru to hold a meeting of core committee members from Tumakuru, Chitradurga, and Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituencies.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi kickstarted the BJP Karnataka unit’s poll campaign on the day of the declaration of election dates, Mr. Shah’s visit is expected to ensure that the party’s poll preparations are on the right track through the review.
