BENGALURU: Politicians in the state, as well as star campaigners from elsewhere, are wasting no time taking a break after polls concluded for 14 Lok Sabha constituencies across southern and coastal parts of the state on Thursday.
With 14 more seats going to the polls on April 23, netas are descending on the remaining constituencies to push for their candidates. With senior leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Eshwar Khandre, Vinay Kulkarni from the Congress and Madhu Bangarappa from the JD(S) as well as Ananth Kumar Hegde, Ramesh Jigajinagi, B Y Raghavendra and Umesh Jadhav contesting, the battle is only half won, leaders say.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Chikkodi and Bagalkot even while polling was underway on Thursday. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address rallies in Raichur and Chikkodi on Friday and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will join him at Raichur. Congress seems to have invited Naidu to woo a large number of Telugites from Raichur, Kalaburagi and Ballari, which share a border with Andhra Pradesh.
On Saturday, BJP president Amit Shah will be in Hubballi and is scheduled to take part in a road show in Bhadravati in Shivamogga district. BJP leader and Union Minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to address party workers in Hubballi on Saturday, while BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa will be busy campaigning for his son B Y Raghavendra in Shivamogga for the next three days.
Local leaders of the coalition too are leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum coverage for their candidates. Immediately after voting, former CM Siddaramaiah took a chopper to Haveri and addressed a party rally.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who was busy campaigning for his son Nikhil in Mandya for the last four days, will be in Hubballi on Friday. He is scheduled to address joint rallies with Congress leaders in Hubballi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura for the next three days. On Sunday, he will be in Shivamogga, campaigning for Madhu Bangarappa.