Old Mysuru region turns a battleground for BJP, Congress, JD(S)

Mysore/Mysuru: In their last-ditch effort to sway the voters, the star campaigners of the BJP, Congress and JD(S) are holding a series of public rallies and road shows across the old Mysuru region and also in Kodagu and Bengaluru, to wrest power in Karnataka.

With less than a week left for Karnataka to go to polls, political parties in the fray have stepped up their attack on each other with high-octane campaigns.

From BJP’s side, several crowd-pullers like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have already finished one round of campaigning and road shows, while actor ‘Kichcha’ Sudeep, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are in line to hold public rallies in Varuna and Kodagu.

Considering the importance of the Old Mysuru and Bengaluru regions, PM Modi is set to hold a 36.6-km road show in Bengaluru on May 6 and 7 and will arrive in the Temple Town of Nanjangud for the first time.

The focus of the party, however, is the high-voltage Varuna where former CM Siddharamaiah is fighting a bitter electoral battle with senior BJP leader Somanna. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have their events lined up back-to-back as part of the BJP’s campaign trail.

Planning a neck-to-neck fight with the BJP, the Congress too has lined up a list of star campaigners. Its leader Rahul Gandhi has already toured Chamarajanagar and his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held road shows in T. Narasipur, Nanjangud and Varuna.

Congress sources said that Priyanka Gandhi, party’s National President Mallikarjun Kharge, KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar and senior leader Siddharamaiah have their rallies and road shows scheduled in the coming days before the open public campaign ends on May 8.

Today, actor Shivarajkumar, his wife Geetha Shivarajkumar, and Madhu Bangarappa are canvassing for Siddharamaiah in Varuna. Separate public meetings will be held by Puducherry CM Narayanasamy in Varuna. This evening, actress Ramya will seek votes in favour of Siddharamaiah and on May 5, actor ‘Duniya’ Vijay will canvass for Siddharamaiah in Varuna.

Amidst the campaigning heat, the JD(S) too is turning up the throttle with former PM H.D. Deve Gowda and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy leading the campaigns in the Old Mysuru region. Though the party does not have star campaigners like BJP and Congress, it is leaving no stone unturned to woo voters.