New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday tried his hands at a traditional musical instrument while addressing a public rally in Karnataka's Chitradurga ahead of the assembly elections.
In a video shared by the news agency ANI, the Prime Minister could be seen enjoying playing the instrument along with other members of the party.
Speaking at the public meeting, Modi said, "We need to make Karnataka a driving force for the Developed India, a Growth Engine for the Developed India. For accomplishing this, we need to bring back to power, the Double-Engine Government!"
Praising BJP's poll manifesto, Modi stated, "The Sankalpa Patra unveiled yesterday for Karnataka has been excellent; it has a road map to make Karnataka Number 1 State in the country, it has a blue-print for the modern infrastructure, has a focus on empowerment of women and youth."
Modi slammed both Congress and JD(S), saying that both are corrupt and they promote dynastic politics and sow divisions in society. "I want to alert you. People of Karnataka must be wary of both JD(S) and Congress. They aren’t different. They are the same. Both are corrupt, promote dynastic politics and sow divisions in society."
After the public meeting at Chitradurga, PM Modi will hold rallies at Hospet in Vijayanagra and Sindhanur. The public meetings will be followed by a roadshow in Kalaburagi.
The 224-member Karnataka Assembly will undergo polls on May 10 and the votes will be counted on May 13. A total of 3,632 candidates are in the fray with 707 from incumbent BJP and 651 from Congress while 1,720 candidates will contest as Independent.
According to the ABP-CVoter Opinion Poll, Congress seems ahead in the race to form the next government in Karnataka with a projected seat range between 107 to 119 while BJP is expected to get seats somewhere between 74 and 86 and JDS between 23 and 35 seats. At around 40 per cent, Congress is expected to bag the most vote percentage with BJP following at 40 per cent and JD(S) at 17 per cent, and others at 8 per cent.