With the Assembly elections in Tripura, billed as a grand face-off between the left and the right in the country concluding on February 18, the BJP will turn its attention to Karnataka.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address at least four rallies in the next month or so: in Mysuru on February 19; in Davangere on February 27; in Bijapur on March 4; and in Raichur on March 13.
Top sources in the party said the Bijapur rally would take care of the Bombay-Karnataka region, which has 50 constituencies.
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The Raichur rally would be important for the Hyderabad-Karnataka area, which has 31 constituencies.
“Party president Amit Shah will be in Karnataka for three days, from February 20, and will mostly travel around the coastal districts, where the BJP is strong but came a cropper in 2013. There are many issues to be addressed organisationally and politically there,” a senior source in the party said.
The northern parts of the State, where Mr. Modi will address the rallies, is dominated by the Lingayat community, a mainstay of support for the BJP and its chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa.
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Certain sections have demanded that it be considered a minority community and not be classified as Hindus. Chief Minister Siddharamaiah has backed the plea, but the BJP has been maintaining a studied silence on it.
Political focus
Several senior leaders from other parties are expected to join the BJP in the next few days, sources said.
With the elections in the northeastern States of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland concluding by February-end, the political focus will shift southward to Karnataka.