Sushma Swaraj, senior BJP leader, concentrated on the Kodagu district which has been reduced to two constituencies from the earlier three following delimitation.
Sushma, who drew a considerable crowd, said the BJP has to be given a chance to rule the state on its own. She said they were firm on their chief ministerial candidate who would be B S Yeddyurappa.
Swaraj said the BJP had performed well during its 20-month tenure as coalition partners with the JD-S and this time, the party should be given a chance to run the government on its own.
She also said that the key focus of the party would be development and eradication of poverty.
The BJP will rope in more leaders in the coming days as the campaign heats up further. They hope to rope in former deputy prime minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, national BJP chief Rajnath Singh and BJP MP Venkaiah Naidu.
Even as both the BJP and the Congress have begun their battle, the JD-S which is expected to be a key player in the formation of any government in Karnataka, will commence its campaign in another two days. The star campaigners for the party would be former prime
minister H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy.
Karnataka will vote in three phases during this election. The first phase of the election, which will held on May 10, will decide the fate of candidates from 89 different constituencies.
The second and third phase of the polls will be held on May 16 and 22 respectively.
Caption: Narendra Modi is the BJP's star campaigner in Karnataka, addressing a rally in Mangalore.
Photograph: KPN Photos
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