Narendra Modi to finalise strategy to regain Karnataka

Hyderabad, July 18: Gujarat Chief Minister and the chief of the BJP's poll campaign chief for 2014 Narendra Modi is set to finalise the party's strategy to unsettle the Congress in Karnataka during his rally in Hyderabad in August. The rally will kick off the BJP's election campaign in south India, sources said.

Modi is set to take a decision on B S Yeddyurappa, the former BJP chief minister of Karnataka who had quit the party after a tussle with the top brass to form his own Karnataka Janatha Paksh. The Lingayat strongman's party couldn't win many seats but ensured the BJP's pathetic defeat in the state assembly polls in May.

According to observers, Modi is in favour of recalling Yeddyurappa, not only to ensure the Lingayat votes for his party, but also to send a message to senior BJP leader L K Advani about his growing prominence in the party. Advani was in favour of Yeddyurappa's ouster after the latter was accused of corruption charges. He also expressed reservation against Modi's elevation in the BJP and his projection as the prime ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, Yeddyurapp has made signals about a probable return to the BJP.

The BJP will aim to field some Lingayat seers in the next Lok Sabha polls. Modi reportedly met ten Lingayat religious leaders in Ahmedabad who sought election ticket besides speaking in favour of Yeddyurappa's return. The BJP lost Karnataka, its first and only bastion in south India, to rivals Congress in this year's polls.

The decision to recall Yeddyurappa in the BJP and field Lingayat leaders will feature in Modi's August agenda in Hyderabad.

OneIndia News