Karnataka election 2018: Sting video to mud-slinging, campaign ends with fiery rhetoric

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: The high-decibel poll campaign in Karnataka came to a finale at 5 pm on Thursday, giving voters a day of respite to think before they exercise their right to choose the government on May 12. As the Karnataka Assembly election is being considered significant before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, both incumbent Congress and the BJP, the main opposition party, did not leave anything to chance by pooling in all possible resources from their national leadership. Taking time off from his busy schedule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 19 rallies covering 18 Assembly constituencies, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi took part in 17 rallies in 15 constituencies. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, however, attended only one public rally in Bijapur. 

While the BJP used the services of several Union Ministers from Central government as well as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Congress sent its top leadership including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma, and P Chidambaram for the poll campaign. Incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, remained the main driver of the Congress campaign.

The last day of the heated poll campaign saw the final poll blitz by the political parties as both the Congress and the BJP exuberated confidence of securing majority on their own. BJP chief ministerial candidate, BS Yeddyurappa even declared May 17 as the his oath taking ceremony.

While PM Modi chose to address the SC/ST, OBC, and minority workers of the BJP using his NaMo app, party president Amit Shah and its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa made the final assault against Siddaramaiah through a road show in Badami — where the CM is contesting.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a day off from campaigning and had him heard through an open press conference in Bengaluru and attacked the Modi government over a range of issues, including Dalit atrocities, rising crime against women, agrarian distress, and corporate-banking fraud.

Not shying away from taking difficult questions, he also took a jibe at the PM for not holding a press conference in the last four years.

PM Modi, on the other hand, sought to dent Congress’ Dalit vote base in his video address saying that the Congress never respected Babasaheb Ambedkar.

“While the Congress party was in power, Babasaheb was not given Bharat Ratna. Congress has no place for Dalits and backwards,” he said.

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The Congress signed off with senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addressing four rallies in Mangalore.

Source: DNA India