Hundreds of people gathered on both sides of the road to greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he held a mega road show in Mysuru on Sunday as part of BJP's election campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections. Modi also concluded his whirlwind two-day tour of the poll-bound state during which he addressed six public rallies.
Clad in traditional Mysuru 'Peta' and a saffron shawl, Modi was flanked by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, former ministers K.S. Eshwarappa and sitting MLA S.A. Ramadas. Notably, Eshwarappa had recently announced retirement from electoral politics, while Ramadas was denied ticket to contest in the May 10 elections.
A cultural troupe of men and women in traditional attire walked all along the road. While men wore 'Peta' and 'Kurta', women were in attire resembling that of Bharatanatyam dancers.
Earlier in the day, Modi addressed three rallies in 'Old Mysuru' region (South Karnataka) where he launched a scathing attack on both the JD(S) and the Congress, calling them a "sign of instability".
In Kolar, Modi targeted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his 'venomous snake' remark, and said that the snake was the charm of lord Shiva's neck, and for him the people of the country were a "form of god", and he was fine with being compared to the snake on their necks.
"I know that the people of Karnataka, the land of saints and sanskar, will give a befitting reply to Congress's abuses through votes. The anger of the people against the Congress will reflect through votes on May 10," he said.
Addressing a rally in Belur, Modi called the JD(S) a 'B-team' of the Congress.
"Every vote you cast in favour of JD(S) will go into the Congress's account, while voting for Congress means putting a break to Karnataka's development," he said.
"This time Karnataka has decided to end the decades of jod-tod (coalition) politics. Congress and JD(S) both are signs of instability. In whichever states Congress governments are remaining, there its identity is of rivalry between its leaders. You are too seeing what is happening in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh," Modi said.
The prime minister addressed another rally in Channapatna where he accused the Congress and the JD(S) of encouraging corruption. He alleged that both parties saw Karnataka as an ATM, and that they found opportunity in instability.
