In a close contest between Siddaramaiah and Yeddyurappa why Modi is the X factor

A Modi wave is what the BJP is hoping for to win the Karnataka assembly elections. Going by recent pre-poll surveys the margin in terms of popularity between Siddaramaiah and Yeddyurappa is not very wide. For the BJP to make that extra push, it is relying very heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is campaigning in the state.

The PM has a hectic schedule on hand and will address close to 20 rallies before campaigning comes to a close on May 10. The state votes on May 12. The big question is how much of an impact will the Modi factor have in Karnataka.

A snap poll by News X CNX shows that Modi has been rated as very good by 31.87 respondents. 20.29 say the performance is good while 21.33 per cent say it has been very poor. These are pleasing numbers for the BJP and the party would hope to capitalise on his popularity in the final days of the election campaign.

In this context it would be interesting to look at the popularity charts of Siddaramaiah and Yeddyurappa. The snap poll which covered 76 constituencies and 9,120 people says that around 31.33 per cent consider that Siddaramaiah has performed well as a CM in the past five years. In the case of Yeddyurappa it was 26 per cent. The poll also states that 31.11 per cent see Siddaramaiah as the next CM, while in the case of Yeddyurappa it is 28.29.

BJP leaders say that they had saved the best for the last. We wanted the Congress to play all its cards before Modi could arrive in the state. The campaign by Modi will make a huge difference to the BJP's prospects. In BJP circles, Modi has also been dubbed as Dhoni.

Going by Modi's speeches, it is clear that he is taking the Congress on the issue of law and order. The snap poll shows that the biggest issue for the Siddaramaiah government is the law and order situation and water availability. 42.47 per cent of the respondents said that Siddaramaiah's performance would be an important factor while 30.73 per cent feel that the local MLA would be the key factor.

Another important factor is corruption. Surprisingly only 7.74 per cent feel that corruption would be an issue while voting in the Karnataka assembly elections 2018.