Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah's mega roadshow, slated to take place on Friday in Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru, has been postponed due to rain and waterlogging in the area. Shah is on a two-day visit to Karnataka to take stock of the party's preparations for the May 10 Assembly elections in the state. This is Shah's first visit to the state after the announcement of the poll schedule on March 29.


The Home Minister thanked the BJP supporters for gathering at the venue, tweeting: "Due to heavy rain could not be there among the people of Devanahalli. I bow to them for turning out in large numbers despite adverse weather. I will certainly visit Devanahalli soon for a campaign. Their enthusiasm shows that the BJP will win a massive victory in Karnataka."






Shah was to hold a roadshow in the taluk headquarters town of Devanahalli, the birthplace of 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, in Bengaluru Rural district. In Devanahalli, the Union Minister was going to campaign for BJP candidate Pilla Munishamappa, who is pitted against sitting JD(S) MLA L N Narayanaswamy and Congress candidate K H Muniyappa, a former Union minister and seven-time MP.


Muniyappa, who was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is foraying into the Assembly elections for the first time. In the 2018 Assembly election, the fight was mainly between Narayanswamy (86,966 votes) and Venkataswamy (69,956) of the Congress. BJP candidate K Nagesh was a distant third with 9,820 votes.


He was also scheduled to hold a meeting with senior party functionaries regarding poll preparations in the evening, news agency PTI reported BJP sources as saying.


On Saturday, the senior BJP leader is scheduled to attend an event organised by a private news channel before flying back to New Delhi.


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PM Modi To Campaign In 20 Places: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai


Earlier, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would campaign in about 20 places in poll-bound Karnataka. He said the Prime Minister's campaign programme is being finalised.      


There is a possibility of PM Modi campaigning in about 20 places, Bommai told reporters, as per PTI.


In most (of these) places, he will address rally-meeting and in some, there will be road shows, the Chief Minister said.


PM Modi, BJP President J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and a strong team of Union Ministers figure in the list of the party's 40-star campaigners for the elections.         


Karnataka is set to vote on May 10, and the results will be declared on May 13.