Amit Shah in Karnataka: BJP Chief meets Lingayat seer as Congress attempts ‘divide and rule'

BJP president Amit Shah who is in Karnataka on Monday met Shivakumara Swami of Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur. Besides visiting a number of mutts associated with various communities, including Lingayats and Dalits, Shah will also address farmers' and traders' meetings, take out a road show and attend party events in the poll-bound state, a BJP statement said.

Shah will tour Karnataka for two days starting Monday as the party seeks to win back the Lingayat vote bank ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. Shah will visit mutts associated with the Lingayat and Dalit communities during his visit. On Tuesday, Shah will visit Madara Chennaiah mutt, which has been traditionally associated with Dalits. He will also visit the Bekkinkal, Sirigere and Muruga mutts among others during his visit to the state's central region. He will end his tour with a rally aimed at the ST community in Challakere in Chitradurga. Shah's visit comes a few weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Davanagere on 28 February. The BJP is making an all-out effort to unseat the Congress from the only big state where the grand old party is in power. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also been frequenting the state and visited holy places linked to different religions and castes.