BJP President Amit Shah on Friday began his two-day tour of the Old Mysuru region, and asserted that his party would hand Karnataka’s ruling Congress and the opposition JD(S) the “the biggest shock of their lives” in the May 12 Assembly elections.

“It is said that the BJP is a bit weak here (Old Mysuru region), but after watching the work of party workers, I expect Siddaramaiah ji and the JD(S) of getting the biggest shock of their lives from this Mysuru region,” Shah said, addressing a meeting of booth-level workers.

Later in the night, he slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of doing little for the region.

“There are multiple fronts on which CM Siddaramaiah has failed his own constituency. Mandya-Mysuru region has one of the highest farmer suicide rates in the state. Last year, there were more than 265 infant deaths in just 7 months in Mysuru district,” he tweeted late on Friday.

Shah also claimed the Chief Minister had not worked to improve the investment climate in Mysuru. “Mysuru is just 140 Km away from the state capital, yet it has failed to attract any major investments. In 5 years, CM did nothing to fulfill his promise to widen Mysuru-Bengaluru roadway. It was PM Modi who fulfilled this long standing demand with a new 8-lane road.”

“Forget everything else, he couldn’t even solve scarcity of drinking water in his own constituency Varuna. It is natural that the entire state has suffered in last 5 years under a CM, who couldn’t even take care of his own backyard.”

Crucial zone

The South Karnataka districts have become a prestige battle for the three major parties in the fray. The region’s districts of Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Ramanagara make up for 26 of the Karnataka Assembly’s 225 seats. While the Congress and the JD(S) are believed to be strong in the region, the BJP is seen as weak, having drawn a blank in the 2013 Assembly polls.

The saffron party is now keen to break into the region, which is home to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and where JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda has some influence.

Lingayat outreach

Shah kicked off his ‘Karunadu Jagruti Yatra’ by visiting the Suttur Mutt, a prominent Lingayat-Veerashaiva shrine, in what is seen as reaching out to the party’s core support base.

“Took the blessings of Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji of Sri Suttur Math in Mysuru. Swami ji has made significant efforts towards spreading the values of Indian culture & tradition worldwide. I also admire Matha’s role in providing education to the poor in rural Karnataka,” Shah tweeted.

Shah also called on the royal family of Mysuru. His visit triggered speculation that the family was being asked to contest on behalf of the party, or help the BJP in campaigning.

Later, the BJP chief visited the home of a party worker who was hacked to death by an unidentified person a couple of years ago. He condemned the “series of killings of RSS-BJP workers” that have happened “ever since the Siddaramaiah government assumed office”.

Shah later tweeted: “Visited the home of Late Shri Raju, our karyakarta from Kyathamaranahalli, Mysuru, and paid condolences to the bereaved family (sic). Entire BJP stands united with Raju’s family. Such politics of violence must be uprooted from the peaceful land of Karnataka.”

‘Voters will not err’

Referring to the Chitradurga incident — when in a slip of the tongue he accused BJP State unit BS Yeddyurappa of corruption when his target was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Shah said he had made a mistake in his speech, but the State electorate will not err when they vote.

“Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi were very happy over my gaffe at Chitradurga rally while speaking about Siddaramaiah’s corruption. I have made a mistake, but the people of Karnataka will not do it because they have very well understood Siddaramaiah’s government,” he said.

Later, in Kollegal and Chamarajanagar, Amit Shah addressed Dalits and Scheduled Tribe leaders respectively.

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