On March 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch the BJP's Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka with a public gathering in Kalaburagi, as announced by the party's state general secretary V Sunil Kumar.
Notably, Kalaburagi is the hometown of AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, who secured Lok Sabha seats from the district in 2009 and 2014, but faced defeat in the previous general elections to BJP's Umesh Jadhav.
Party sources suggest that the Congress is considering nominating Radhakrishna Doddamani, the son-in-law of the 81-year-old M Mallikarjun Kharge, for the upcoming elections.
Addressing reporters at the BJP state headquarters, V Sunil Kumar also revealed that Prime Minister Modi will address another public gathering in Shivamogga on March 18. The public meeting in Kalaburagi will be held at NV Playground on March 16, followed by the event in Shivamogga at Allamaprabhu Ground on March 18, Kumar informed.
Karnataka holds paramount importance for the BJP in southern India, being the only state where it has previously held power. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured a significant victory, winning 25 out of the total 28 seats in the state, with an independent supported by the party also clinching a seat. Conversely, the Congress and the JD(S), led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who were in a coalition government at the time and contested the elections jointly, managed to secure only one seat each.