Banking on its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to improve its poll fortunes in the State, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to ensure the participation of about five lakh people for the proposed rally to be addressed by him in Bangalore on November 16.
Briefing presspersons after a meeting of the BJP State political affairs committee in Bangalore on Wednesday, party State president Pralhad Joshi said the venue for the rally is yet to be finalised. Some BJP leaders indicated that the party was also thinking of holding the rally at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, though a final decision is yet to be taken.
Apart from addressing the rally in Bangalore, Mr. Modi will attend another eight rallies in Karnataka till January 16, he said.
To build a tempo for the rally, the BJP has decided to take up a campaign at all the hobli centres of the State from November 7 to 10, Mr. Joshi said.
Registration
He announced that the party would not only charge a commitment fee of Rs. 10 per person attending the Bangalore rally in tune with its decades-old practice of charging commitment fee for the programmes attended by its cadre, but will also register the names of the participants in advance on October 30 and 31.
He said the registration of participants would be done in all the Legislative Assembly constituencies. There will also be an online registration facility.
He also announced that the party would hold protest dharnas in all district centres on October 28 against the alleged failure of the Congress government in the State to reimburse the crop loan waiver amount to the co-operatives to facilitate disbursal of fresh loans to farmers, and the delay in release of the State government’s share of premium towards the crop insurance scheme. The protesters would also seek scientific fixing of minimum support prices for paddy and maize, he said.
Protests
In addition to this, the party top leaders will hold protest demonstrations in Koppal (October 24), Haveri (October 26), Bagalkote (October 27), Belgaum (October 28), Puttur (October 29), Doddaballapur and Bangalore surroundings on October 30 against the alleged failure of the State government to respond to the problems being faced by farmers, including the foot-and-mouth disease that has caused the death of a large number of cattle, he said.
