LS polls: PM Modi to address four mega rallies in North K'taka today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address four rallies in the North Karnataka region in Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere and Ballari on Sunday.

PM Modi will address public rallies to strengthen the BJP state unit's efforts to consolidate votes in the North Karnataka region.

Former Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar and other dignitaries welcomed the Prime Minister, who arrived at Kundanagari Belgaum for the Lok Sabha election campaign on Saturday night.

Voting was held in 14 Lok Sabha seats out of 28 in Karnataka on Friday.

The other 14 seats that will go to polls on May 7 are Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bidar, Bijapur, Chikkodi, Davanagere, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Haveri, Ballari, Koppal, Raichur, Shimoga, and Uttara Kannada.

BJP has always performed brilliantly in the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. It is the only state in the south where BJP's hold has been strong. In the 2019 elections, the party had won unilaterally on 25 out of 28 seats in the state.

Congress won one seat. In such a situation, while the BJP once again faces the challenge of repeating its performance like the last election, Congress is trying to save its existence.

In Karnataka, if Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities come together on one platform, then they are capable of bringing a big upheaval in the politics of Karnataka. BJP has also had to suffer the consequences of this in the assembly elections.

Lingayats have the largest population in Karnataka, while Vokkaliga community is in second place. JDS chief HD Deve Gowda and Congress state president DK Shivakumar belong to the Vokkaliga community.

The third phase is scheduled for May 7 which will witness polling in 94 constituencies across 12 states/UTs. The results will be announced on June 4.