Bangalore, 8th April: Ruling BJP party in Karnataka formally launches its campaign for the May 5 assembly polls with a rally, but the senior BJP leader LK Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi are giving it a miss on Monday.
Though state party leaders had been saying for days that Advani and Modi would also address the rally, their names were missing from the list of speakers announced on Friday in New Delhi by party general secretary and Bangalore South Lok Sabha HN Ananth Kumar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has not given a reason for the two not attending the rally, which the state leaders have been projecting as one that “will show the party’s strength”.
Incidentally, Modi had also missed the first meeting of the recently re-constituted BJP parliamentary board in New Delhi Friday at which the first list of 140 candidates for the Karnataka poll was approved.
Modi has returned to the board after a gap six years.
Strengthening the speculation was Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s announcement Saturday that Modi would campaign in five districts, whereas Karnataka has 30 districts.
Shettar did not identify the districts nor did he give the number of meetings Modi would address in the five districts.
On Saturday three legislators, including Tourism Minister Anand Singh, quit the party. Anand Singh and another legislator, Suresh Babu, are from Bellary district in north Karnataka.
Elections are to be held for 224 seats of the 225-member assembly. One member is nominated. Nominations open April 10 and close April 17. Vote count is on May 8.
Bureau Report
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