Union home minister Amit Shah will tour Hubballi-Dharwad and Belagavi in Karnataka on Saturday to attend various events and take part in a roadshow organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The visit to what is known as Kittur-Karnataka (Mumbai-Karnataka) region, where the BJP is considerably strong, has been seen an attempt to consolidate the party’s votes ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023.
Shah had visited Bengaluru, Mandya, and Bengaluru Rural districts during his earlier trip to the state in December-end.
“Amit Shah will be arriving and staying in Hubballi on January 27, and on January 28 morning there are two programmes, one is KLE’s BVB college’s 75th anniversary and inauguration of an indoor stadium, and then he will be laying the foundation for Forensic Science Laboratory in Dharwad,” Karnataka BJP general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai told reporters.
He said Shah will then participate in the BJP’s ‘Vijaya Sankalpa Abhiyana’ in Kundagol. “He will also be offering prayers at the ancient Shambulingeshwara temple in Kundagol, which is about 300 years old, after which he will go toward no. 7 and booth no. 50 of Kundagol to launch Vijaya Sankalpa Abhiyana there by doing a wall painting,” Tenginkai said.
He will also visit the ‘Basavanna Devara matha’ there. He will then take part in a “massive road show” of about 1.5 km stretch organised in the Kundagol assembly segment, which comes under Dharwad rural region, for which all preparations are in place, he said, adding that pamphlet distribution and membership drive by giving missed call will also be launched during the roadshow.
From Kundagol, Shah will proceed to M K Hubballi near Kittur in Belagavi district to participate in a rally, which is part of the ongoing ‘Jana Sankalpa Yatre’. Tenginkai said a large number of people are likely to gather as the party is mobilising workers and supporters from Kittu, Khanapur and Bylahongala assembly segments.
Khanapur and Bylahongala assembly segments are currently represented by Congress legislators.
After the rally, two party meetings are organised in Belagavi district and both will be attended by Shah, Tenginkai said.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel, senior leader BS Yediyurappa, Union minister Pralhad Joshi among others, will be participating in party programmes in Kundagol and M K Hubballi.
Shah was in ‘Old Mysuru’ region’s Mandya district, other than Bengaluru, on December 30 and 31, during which he had asked party leaders and workers to focus on winning more seats from the region, aimed at getting an absolute majority in the polls.
A senior leader in the party, who did not wish to be named, said that unlike the previous elections, Shah is attempting to micromanage the campaigns in specific regions. “The last time he held a meeting, he gave instructions on increasing the party’s prospects in Mandya region. A senior minister being appointed district in-charge is an outcome of this micromanagement. After the meeting, Yediyurappa and other leaders were keen to issue statement about Mandya and Mysuru regions. Similarly, during his meeting Shah is expected to give specific instructions on the campaign in the region,” the leader said.
The party leadership has decided to pay close attention to Belagavi this year for various reasons, said the leader cited above. With 18 Assembly seats, it stands next only to Bengaluru which accounts for 28 Assembly seats out of the 224 seats. The party is campaigning in the region with care as Ramesh Jarkiholi, who is strong in the region has been upset with the party for removing him from power over a sex-for-job scandal. Similarly, the death of its senior leader Umesh Katti, who too had a substantial political hold, has pushed the party into a cautious mode in Belagavi.
