Kalaburagi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at supporters during a public meeting ahead of Lok Sabha elections, in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, Saturday, March 16, 2024. BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa is also seen. (PTI Photo)(PTI03_16_2024_000162B)
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru, DHNS: The BJP has designated 40 star campaigners, including BJP national president J P Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Smriti Irani and Nitin Gadkari, for campaigning in the state.
The Lok Sabha polls will be held in two phases in the state - April 26 and May 7 -- during the second and third phases respectively, to elect 28 members for the 18th Lok Sabha.
The BJP’s star campaigners list includes four outgoing MPs from state - D V Sadananda Gowda, Pratap Simha, A Narayanswamy and Nalin Kumar Kateel whom the party has replaced with fresh faces.
The list of star campaigners also includes BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal who has been critical of BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and his father former chief minister B S Yediyurappa.
Along with Modi and Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai and Karnataka BJP election in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal have also been named as star campaigners.
B Y Vijayendra, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, Basavaraj Bommai, former deputy chief ministers Govind Karjol, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, former ministers B Sriramulu, Arvind Limbavali, V Sunil Kumar, C T Ravi and Sudhakar Reddy are also among the 40 star campaigners.