The election campaign in Karnataka has shifted gears with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Bengaluru, on Sunday, 4 February.
Even though he was in the state capital for less than two hours, the crowd response evinced Modi’s appeal as a crowd-pleaser, at least in the urban parts of the state.
Modi was careful to appeal to the language sentiments of the state through his speech, this time without any liberal peppering of his trademark ‘Mitron’. He ensured that his Kannada speech cameo was not limited to a simple greeting, and stretched to full sentences instead – both at the beginning and end of his speech – to make an impact.
Over one lakh party supporters at Bengaluru’s palace grounds came to see the prime minister, chanting his name and demanding him to begin his speech while other state leaders’ speeches, including Yeddyurappa’s, took a backseat for the day.
While Modi pledged his support to Karnataka’s farmers and promised ease of travel to commuters, he steered clear of certain pertinent issues at his first rally in poll-bound Karnataka.
No Word on Mahadayi
More than what Modi said, it was what he didn’t say that stirred a political controversy in the state following the rally. Despite assuring steps to improve the condition of farmers in the state, Modi made no mention of the Mahadayi river dispute.
On 4 February, several pro-Kannada organisations had called for a bandh, demanding the prime minister’s intervention in solving the long pending Mahadayi river dispute between Karnataka and Goa.
Mahadayi river has been a lifeline for several districts of North Karnataka and the Congress was quick to turn tables against the prime minister for ignoring the biggest problem faced by the farmers in the state.
BJP’s First Electoral Promise
Prime Minister Modi’s speech focused more on what the central government can provide for Karnataka and how having BJP governments at the centre and state could help Karnataka.
There was no mention of any achievement of the BJP governments in the past.
However, the Modi rally saw the BJP making its first electoral promise. Both Modi and BS Yeddyurappa announced that Rs 1 lakh crore will be set aside for irrigation, if BJP comes to power in the state.
The BJP has been challenged in the past, by several Congress leaders, to come out with a policy promise during their election campaign. The BJP, which had based its campaign on the Hindutva agenda, on Sunday, showed the first signs of a mood shift towards a policy-based campaign.
‘10% Govt’
Prime Minister Modi accused the Congress of being involved in multiple scams including infrastructure development, transfers of officers, sand mining and the now defunct Rs 1,791 crore steel flyover.
“There are serious allegations of corruption against Congress leaders...I have been told that Karnataka govt is being recognised as a ‘10% govt’, since no work is possible without 10% commission. Union govt has been repeatedly allocating benefits and money to Karnataka. But the state has not received any of it,” said Modi.
Modi’s comments, however, came back to haunt BS Yeddyurappa, who was also indicted and jailed on charges of corruption.
The now Chief Minister of the state, Siddaramaiah didn’t fail to point that out on his Twitter account soon after.
In response, the BJP threatened to take legal action against anyone speaking against BS Yeddyurappa.
TOP or POT?
An interpretation of Modi’s statement sparked another social media war between the two parties online. Modi in his speech said that farmers producing fruits and vegetables are 'TOP' priority. 'TOP' according to him was an acronym for 'Tomato, Onion & Potato', the three staple vegetables across the country. He went on to add that 'Operation Green' was launched in the interest of farmers cultivating these vegetables.
However, a Karnataka Congress leader’s tweet taking a dig at the abbreviation was not well received by the BJP.
With the prime minister addressing the rally on Sunday and Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state slated for 10 February, election campaign in the state is set to pick momentum.
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