K’taka poll watch: Amit Shah in Dharwad, Siddaramaiah may contest from two seats, and more

Assembly polls in Karnataka is weeks away, and the current Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state will finish its full term of five years on May 28 – a feat no party has managed since 1985. But will the Congress manage to fight anti-incumbency in the one of the few states it governs in India following the Modi wave? Will the Yeddyurappa-led BJP pull off a win in the state under Amit Shah’s watchful eye? And will HD Kumaraswamy’s JD(S) get to a position where they can play kingmaker in Karnataka once again?

In the run up to the biggest election of 2018, TNM brings you Poll Watch every Monday and Thursday. It will be your one stop shop for all the updates on the campaigns, manifestos, and politicking ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.

• BJP National President Amit Shah reached Dharwad for his second two-day visit to  poll-bound Karnataka. He held meetings with chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and other leaders to discuss the second list of tickets.
• The meeting was also meant to address the dissatisfaction among party leaders who missed out on their tickets in the first list.
• Shah also took part in the nationwide protest called by the party over the continuous disruptions in Parliament, making this session a washout. The party called for all its leaders and office-bearers to fast for a day as a mark of protest. Many leaders including the likes of Jagadish Shettar, newly inducted MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar took part in the fast.
• But all did not go well for Shah as he was welcomed with black flags by some activists at the protest venue who shouted slogans against him, calling him “communal”.
• Meanwhile, the Congress is likely to release its first list of candidates, across 150 seats, on Friday. CM Siddaramaiah is touted to contest from two seats.
• Earlier CM Siddaramaiah had announced that he would contest from the Chamundeshwari constituency leaving his current Varuna seat open for his son. The CM is most likely to file his nomination from Badami as well, which boasts of a majority population of Kurubas, the same community to which SIddaramaiah belongs.
• Similarly, Janata Dal (Secular) state chief HD Kumaraswamy is also going to contest from two seats. Speaking to the media, he hit out at the BJP for holding a “publicity-driven” fast. He called for the government in power at the Centre to govern rather than protest. The party also held rallies in Challekere, Molakalmuru in Chitradurga.
• Telengana CM K Chandrashekar Rao is also set to meet JD(S) National President and former Prime MinisterHD Deve Gowda on Friday to discuss setting up a third front ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.