Narendra Modi in Karnataka: PM set to address rallies in Gulbarga, Ballari and Bengaluru today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies across poll-bound Karnataka on Thursday. While he is scheduled to address a rally in Gulbarga at 10.30 am, Modi is expected to address another one in Ballari at 2.30 pm. The prime minister will wrap up his campaigning for the day by addressing a public rally in Bengaluru at 5 pm. The prime minister, who started his campaign trail from 1 May, is expected to address about 15 to 20 rallies in the state to boost the BJP’s chances in the keenly contested state polls. [caption id=“attachment_4451479” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] Modi addressed three rallies on Tuesday, in Chamarajanagara, Udupi and Belagavi, which the BJP claimed pulled huge crowds. He assailed the Congress heavily on issues related to availability of drinking water, agriculture, Kannada pride, and law and order. The prime minister also interacted with workers of the state BJP's farmers cell through his Narendra Modi app on Wednesday. Next, he is scheduled to hold a dialogue with the  Mahila Morcha Karyakarta through the app on 4 May. BJP sources said a final programme of Modi’s election tour is still being finalised. He is scheduled to be in the state on 3, 5, 7 and 8 May, addressing three rallies a day. The saffron party is making all-out efforts to oust the Siddaramaiah dispensation from power in the only big state where the Congress governs, apart from Punjab. Opinion polls have forecast a close fight between the two parties, with some of them even predicting a hung House. The BJP believes that Modi’s whirlwind campaign in the final days before the polls can tilt the scale in its favour. Party president Amit Shah has been frequenting the state for months, holding rallies, meeting religious heads, addressing community events and toning up organisational machinery in the run-up to the election. However, the prime minister remained absent from the electoral battlefield ever since the Assembly elections were announced, giving the Congress a chance to taunt the BJP over Modi’s absence. Modi was in the state last on 27 February when he addressed another election rally in Davangere. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in contrast, has already toured different parts of the state extensively. Polling for the 224-member Assembly will be held on 12 May, and results will be declared on the 15 May.