Amit Shah to kick off sixth leg of campaign with a protest during fast in Karnataka tomorrow

Bengaluru: BJP president Amit Shah will tour northern parts of the state from Thursday on his sixth round of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka, where the saffron party is going all out to unseat the Congress. During his two-day trip, the BJP chief will take part in campaigns, protests and meet Lingayat and Veerashaiva seers. Shah will hold a sit-in at Hubballi joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party MPs to protest the recent washout of the Budget Session of Parliament. [caption id=“attachment_4377623” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of BJP chief Amit Shah. PTI[/caption] Modi and other BJP leaders are slated to observe a day-long fast tomorrow to protest the washout due to disruptions by the Opposition. The BJP chief will travel to Dharwad, Bagalkote, Belagavi and Gadag. He will be accompanied by BJP’s chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa and Union minister Ananthkumar and other senior party functionaries. Shah will also participate in the “Musti Dhanya Abhiyan,” a campaign of collecting a fistful of foodgrains from farmers to show solidarity with them. As part of the campaign, a feast would be arranged from the foodgrains collected from the farmers where BJP will promise to the farmers that it will support them if the party comes to power, BJP sources said. Shah will call on pontiffs of Lingayat and Veerashaiva community including the head of Mooru Savira Math at Hubballi and visit some prominent temples too, the sources said. The BJP president has been travelling to various Mutts and visiting seers of Lingayat and Veerashaiva community ever since chief minister Siddaramaiah played the Lingayat card recommending to the Centre on granting religious minority status to the Lingayat sect. During his previous trips, Shah had called on Siddaganga Math’s senior pontiff Shivakumar Swamiji, who is said to be 111 years old, and a revered pontiff for Lingayats and Veerashaivas. Shah’s visit is seen as an attempt to reach out to Lingayats and Veerashaivas who form a strong base for BJP, after the Siddaramaiah government’s recent move to accord separate religion and minority status for Lingayat sect. Click here to follow detailed coverage of the Karnataka Assembly Election 2018