Karnataka elections: To get the crucial one per cent vote swing, Modi to address 25 rallies

With a few poll surveys suggesting that the Congress is ahead in Karnataka, the BJP has decided to have more of Narendra Modi in the campaign. He would address at least 25 rallies before the state goes to poll on May 12. He would make at least 10 visits to the state and there would be days when he addresses more than 2 rallies in a day. The BJP feels that if someone can turn the campaign around for them, then it is Modi himself.

The BJP has decided to combine the rallies by Modi and the strategising of the elections by party president Amit Shah. The BJP's national president, Shah has made several visits to the state and has been micro-managing the elections.Modi during his visits would cover every nook and corner of the state. The party says that his rallies have had huge responses even on Sundays. His rallies at Bengaluru and Mysuru have been big hits, the BJP also says. During the Uttar Pradesh elections, Modi had addressed 24 rallies while his highest still remain in Bihar where it was 31.

Karnataka has dedicated vote banks and the voting pattern has been more or less the same. The BJP feels that it needs to cut into the Congress vote bank and only Modi is capable of doing so. On an individual note, Modi still remains extremely popular in Karnataka and the BJP would like to bank heavily on that. The BJP realises that a one or two per cent vote swing can decide the fate of the elections. Shah has been pushing the Karnataka BJP to toil at the booth level. The party feels that with more of Modi and Shah's booth level engineering, the BJP could bag that crucial one per cent swing which will help it form the government in Karnataka.