New Delhi [India], March 21 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah has lined up fresh visits to poll-bound Karnataka in a bid to a give a further boost to the party's campaign efforts in the southern state.
According to sources, Shah will visit Karnataka twice in the next five days. The state, which in Shah's own words is the BJP's gateway to the south, will go to polls later this year.
"He will visit the state on March 24 and 26, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state," a source said.
During his visit, Shah will unveil three statues, including that of Kempegowda (founder of Bengaluru) and Basaveshwara (Lingayat social reformer), in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the state Assembly on March 24.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Hubballi confirmed that Shah will be visiting the poll-bound state on March 24 and 26 while PM Modi will come calling on March 25.
The PM and the Home minister will grace a raft of events across the state.
After sounding the poll bugle in the state where the BJP currently holds the reins of power, the saffron party has been trying to reach out to various communities by installing statues of famous personalities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Karnataka on March 25 to inaugurate Whitefield Metro Line and to attend BJP's event in Davanagere.
The visit of Amit Shah is significant amid the party's push to return to power im the key southern sate.
On March 12, Shah was on a visit to Kerala, in what was widely seen and interpreted as the launch of the party's campaign for next year's Lok Sabha elections in the south.
Shah had unleashed a stinging atttack on the CPI(M) and the Congress, which have long alternated at the hustings in the southern state, saying the former has been rejected across the world while the latter was losing relevance in the country.
In a barb at the two parties for fighting the recent Tripura Assembly elections in alliance, the Union Home minister said while the CPI(M) and the Congress don't see eye to eye in Kerala, they came together in the Northeast state for the sake of "their existence".
"Voters in Kerala have for long have been giving opportunities to the Congress and the Communists to rule the state. However, the Communists are struggling for relevance across the world. The entire world has rejected the Communists while the entire country has pushed the Congress on the verge of oblivion. I urge the people to give chance to the BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. We will strive to bring development to Kerala as well as across the country. While the Congress and the CPI(M) fight elections in Kerala as bitter rivals, they came together for the Tripura polls. They joined forces to fight the BJP, in a desperate quest to stay relevant, and yet, the people of Tripura brought us back with a full majority," Shah had said at a public meeting in the southern state's Thrissur.
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