Karnataka polls: Can Modi bring in the 20-30 extra seats that BJP needs?

Until now, the BJP has struggled to strike a chord among voters beyond its traditional support base of Lingayats, upper castes and urban voters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address nearly 20 public meetings over the next 10-days ahead of Karnataka elections, three of which he addresses today.

The respective leaderships of the three principal political players in the contest have awaited Modi's entry into the Karnataka poll campaign with anticipation.

It has been the only imponderable in an election campaign that has followed a predictable course in the last few weeks.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Hindutva project in Karnataka has run into the wall of deeply entrenched caste loyalties, and the absence of any significant anti-incumbency against the Siddaramaiah government.