BENGALURU: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in Karnataka on Friday and Saturday and he is expected to take stock of the BJP’s preparations for the Assembly elections to be held early next year.
As the BJP is trying hard to improve its performance in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region, Shah will address a rally in Mandya on Friday and a party workers’ convention in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Close to 50,000 people from Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan and other districts in the Old Mysuru region are expected to attend the Mandya rally. Shah is also attending a programme of a milk union in Mandya.
Congress and JDS hold considerable sway over voters in the Old Mysuru region. Though the BJP performed well in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, its performance in the 2018 Assembly elections was not up to its expectations.
Shah’s visit to Mandya is significant considering the BJP’s effort to improve its performance in the region as it has set itself an ambitious target of winning 150 seats. On Saturday, Shah will address party leaders in Bengaluru. A BJP leader said close to 10,000 people, including those in charge of booths, will attend the convention.
Shah is expected to get details about the party’s preparations for the polls in Bengaluru which has 28 Assembly constituencies and advise the leaders about the strategy they need to adopt. “Shah will focus more on party activities in Karnataka ahead of the Assembly polls,” said a BJP leader.