BENGALURU: First, it was a flash mob. On Sunday, JD(S)-Congress candidate for Bangalore North, Krishna Byre Gowda, took to folk rap as a means of campaigning. The hustle and bustle of campaigning — some conventional and others out of the box — marked the last Sunday before polling in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka. While the BJP got Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to hold a talk with intellectuals, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa took part in a road show to campaign for Bangalore South candidate Tejasvi Surya.
“There is a need for a non-corrupt, development-oriented government in Karnataka. Now is the time to re-elect Narendra Modi’s clean government that has concern for the welfare of the public,” said Nirmala, as she campaigned door-to-door in Bangalore South. Campaigns of all parties revolved around garlanding statues and photos of Dr B R Ambedkar to mark his birth anniversary. All three key candidates of Bengaluru Central — BJP’s P C Mohan, Rizwan Arshad of Congress-JD(S) and Independent candidate Prakash Raj - finally shared a stage to debate issues that matter.
Alliance candidate Krishna Byre Gowda, who made it to the headlines with his unique campaign models, took to folk rap. A group of youngsters from Byre Gowda’s constituency came together to put up a gig with messages of voter awareness. “Rap and Hip Hop have their roots in oppressed communities and it is the music of liberation and of freedom. Rap speaks about social struggle and asks for change. It is therefore appropriate that the young citizens of Bengaluru and Karnataka, who have faced many struggles under the BJP-led authoritarian regime, have taken to folk rap to express their political needs. I will carry this voice with me to Parliament,” Krishna Byre Gowda said after the performance.
Campaigning personally for surprise candidate Tejasvi Surya, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa participated in a roadshow on Sunday evening. After party national president Amit Shah’s first roadshow, Tejasvi and Yeddyurappa had shared stage only on Saturday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally.