Lok Sabha polls: Congress, BJP gear up with campaign ammunition in Karnataka well in advance
Congress and the opposition BJP are yet to come out with their full list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, there is a fair idea about the campaign issues in their armoury. The recent bomb blast at a popular eatery here and the raising of «pro-Pakistan» slogans in the corridors of 'Vidhana Soudha' have given fresh ammunition to the BJP to attack the Congress government.
«The twin issues have given us a momentum of sorts in campaigning,» a senior BJP leader said.
The Congress would seek to ride on the popularity of its «guarantee schemes» and make BJP-led NDA government's «step-motherly» attitude towards the state a major poll plank, party sources said.
Political analysts said water scarcity in many parts of the state is also likely to emerge as a key campaign talking point with the Congress and BJP bound to indulge in trading blame.
The Congress on March 8 released its first list of seven candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
The BJP-JD(S) combine is yet to come out with its list of nominees.
For the BJP, which lost the assembly elections in May last year, Karnataka is the most important as it is the only state in the south where it had held power.
Congress sources said the government's guarantees — 'Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti', 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya' — have caught the imagination of the people and the party would harp on them in the run-up to the elections.
The party has been alleging that the Central government has been indifferent towards Karnataka
