Union Home Minister Amit Shah being felicitated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and others during the Vijay Sankalpa Yatre at Devanahalli in Bengaluru Rural district on Friday.
Attributing his party’s success in Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya Assembly elections to the efforts and charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP’s national leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that “Modi magic” would work everywhere in India and predicted it would in Karnataka as well.
He addressed two public rallies — at Basavakalyan in Bidar district and at Devanahalli in Bengaluru Rural district, inaugurating two legs of the Vijay Sankalp Yatre on Friday.
“The Congress has suffered such a humiliating defeat in the Northeast that the party is not visible even if you search with a telescope. There is no chance such a party will get power in Karnataka. Modi Magic works everywhere in India, be it the Northeast, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka,” Mr. Shah said. “Congress leaders are left with no formula for victory,” he added.
Speaking at Devanahalli later in the day, he said the State’s blessing to the party in 2018 and 2019 empowered Mr. Modi to serve the State better and appealed for a “full majority government” to the BJP this time around. He claimed the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre had given the maximum grants and funds to the State under tax devolution. He listed out development projects taken up in Old Mysore region — a region where the party hopes to increase footsteps — including expansion of Kempegowda International Airport at Devanahalli and Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway.
Mr. Shah said the choice before the people of Karnataka was between the BJP, which had made Karnataka number one in foreign direct investment, aviation, and the start-up sector, and the Congress and the JD(S), which would make the State “number one in corruption” and “make their family interests priority number one”.
At Devanahalli, a region where the JD(S) has a stronghold, he appealed to the people to not vote for the regional party. “If you vote JD(S) and give them 25 to 30 seats, they will go and join hands with the Congress to form a government and bring the most corrupt Congress to power again in the State,” he said.
On Yediyurappa
At Basavakalyan, a region dominated by Lingayats, Mr. Shah sought to compare the way the Congress and the BJP have treated leaders of the community.
He said the late Indira Gandhi had “finished the future” of the former Chief Minister Nijalingappa and Rajiv Gandhi had “insulted” another former Chief Minister D. Veerendra Patil. “But Mr. Modi attended B.S. Yediyurappa’s birthday celebrations. The way Mr. Modi spoke about Mr. Yediyurappa is worthy of emulation by all political parties as to how elderly and popular political leaders should be treated,” Mr. Shah said. The Congress has been harping on the BJP “sidelining” the Lingayat strongman Mr. Yediyurappa.
Safe City Project
Later in the day, Mr. Shah inaugurated the first stage of the Safe City Project in Bengaluru. The project entails the installation of thousands of CCTV cameras across the city and a Command Centre to monitor the city 24/7, at a cost of ₹667 crore.
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