Karnataka Poll: Cautious of linguistic crossfire risk, BJP slots outsiders for management works
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, April 7: A batch of 20 leaders from Delhi has moved to Karnataka to oversee party’s election management. Similar batches are being moved from other states by the saffron outfit even while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is growing wary of the Opposition turning heat on the party for depending on outsiders in Karnataka.
Unlike Gujarat Assembly elections where the BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan canvassed for the candidates, the saffron outfit is moving key leaders from a select few states for behind the scene poll management.
“The BJP is guarded not to let the Opposition attack that the party’s campaign is being run by the outsiders and North Indians. The leaders being sent from other states will be few and they will only focus on election coordination at the booth levels,” said a senior BJP functionary from Bengaluru.
In the last few days, the BJP strategists are leaning more on the election strategy to let the local faces take the limelight in the poll campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, and the BJP chief JP Nadda had given a start to the party’s poll campaign with visits to Karnataka, but they are yet to visit the state after the poll date announcement by the Election Commission.
“Political leaders who have experiences in election management are coming to Karnataka and they are also taking position at crucial places for micro-management. Since Karnataka has pockets where people from different states such as those with origins from Rajasthan in the Mysuru region and North Karnataka with Marathi speaking people reside, there will be a need for political leaders from other states to come and work behind the scene to win their support. But they will largely stay in the background,” said a senior BJP functionary.
It has also been reliably learnt that the election campaign in the state will be distinctively be a “Karnataka model”. “Special care is being taken to prop up the local leaders to share most of the burden of the election campaign. The election will see a Karnataka model of campaign, and certainly it will not be a Gujarat model where anyone from anywhere will go to the people to canvass for the candidates,” said another senior BJP functionary.
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