BENGALURU: BJP national president Amit Shah will visit Bengaluru on a two-day tour starting Wednesday to bolster his party's election campaign.
Shah's visit to Bengaluru is perfectly timed to match Basava Jayanti at a time when the BJP is struggling to keep its Lingayat vote base intact.
He will also meet historian Dr M Chidananda Murthy and Dalit poet Dr Siddalingaiah to receive inputs for the party's manifesto.
"Our party chief will meet two luminaries as a symbolic representation of the party's efforts in collecting opinions from students, working class, intellectuals and a wide range of people to prepare our manifesto," Shobha Karandlaje, General Secretary of Karnataka BJP and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP said. Shah will begin this leg of his campaign by garlanding the statue of Basaveshwara at Chalukya Circle on Wednesday morning. Post his meeting with Dr Murthy and Dr Siddalingaiah, he will address a series of meetings with party workers.
Shah's meeting with regional in-charges and Shakti Kendra chiefs comes even as the BJP is facing dissent from aspirants who were denied tickets. The party is yet to announce candidates for 70 seats but is already seeing massive protests across the state by followers of leaders who have not been given tickets. A roadshow in Hoskote on Wednesday will conclude the day's schedule for Shah.
On Thursday, Shah will hold marathon meetings with office bearers and election in-charges to strategise the party's campaigning. Shah will also meet businessmen during his Bengaluru visit.