Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact through virtual mode with about 50 lakh workers of the BJP in poll-bound Karnataka on April 27.
Announcing this at a press conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday, BJP State election management committee convener and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said the virtual interaction would start at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday.
It would be held at 58,112 booths and 1,680 places at the zilla panchayat level. The Prime Minister will reply to individual queries by party workers at 15 places in the State, she said, and noted that about 24 lakh party workers had downloaded the “Modi app” for participating in the interaction.
The party is expecting this will build a tempo for the Prime Minister’s multiple visits scheduled later to address the poll conventions.
Shah at Terdal
Meanwhile, speaking at Terdal of Bagalkot district, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said if the Congress were to come to power, there would be “communal violence and riots across the State.” He claimed there would be large-scale corruption and there will not be any development.
Mr. Shah said that the BJP’s electoral prospects will not be affected in any way with Lingayat leaders Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi leaving the party. “A leader or two leaving will not affect us,” he said at a rally.
“Some Lingayat leaders have left the BJP and the Congress is hoping to gain from their entry. But that will never happen. The Congress is a party that has always insulted Lingayats. All through its reign, only two Lingayats, S. Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil, were made Chief Ministers. Even they were humiliated and removed later. But the Congress is talking about the BJP not treating Lingayat leaders well,” he said.
He defended the BJP move to scrap quota for Muslims, as reservation based on religion is unconstitutional. “We have increased the quota of Lingayats, Vokkaligas, OBCs, and SCs and STs. No one has attempted it earlier,” he said.
“The Congress State president is going around saying they will reinstate Muslim reservation if they came to power. I want to ask him, how will you do it? Will you snatch the quota from the Lingayats, Vokkaligas, OBCs, or SCs and STs to do it?” Mr. Shah said.
