Leaders of main political parties campaign extensively

NEW DELHI, May 08 (BBC): Leaders of India's main political parties have been campaigning extensively in the southern state of Karnataka which goes to the polls on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led an intense campaign, addressing 17 public rallies and five roadshows in 10 days, to ensure his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retains power in the state. In an unusual move, Mr Modi, who rarely stays away from the capital Delhi, even spent two nights in the southern state for campaigning.
The main opposition Congress Party's campaign is led by its president Mallikarjun Kharge and the members of the Gandhi family who have been criss-crossing the state, addressing dozens of rallies and meetings.
The assembly elections are significant as they come just a year ahead of general elections next summer and analysts say they could be a harbinger of things to come.
So, BJP workers have looked up to Mr Modi's campaign with great expectations. His campaign is also significant because it could lift the fortunes of his party in a state that has never returned a ruling party since 1985.
In the last election in 2018, the BJP secured 104 seats, falling short of a majority against the Congress and the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) coalition in the state.
The party then deployed a concerted effort to engineer defections from the Congress and the JDS - the coalition government collapsed a year later as its members resigned to join the BJP soon after it won the 2019 general elections. The BJP has ruled the state since then.
"If the BJP loses, it will mean that it has not been able to make any headway in southern India," A Narayana, professor of political science at Azim Premji University, tells the BBC.
"But if the BJP wins, the energy it will generate among its workers in the neighbouring states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will be substantial."
This is also the first election in which the BJP's top leader in the region BS Yediyurappa did not lead the campaign. A former chief minister, Mr Yediyurappa has been widely credited for steering the party to power first in 2008 and has played a major role in forming the government in 2019 after a hung verdict in 2018.
Analysts say a victory in Karnataka will be a huge boost for the Congress, one that could energise its workers in north Indian states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which go to the polls later this year.
In fact, the Congress has an edge in Karnataka because of its strong local leadership, says psephologist Sanjay Kumar.
"It is the party's national leadership that is weak. No Congress leader at the national level has been able to pull votes for the party," he adds.
Perhaps, this is where Mr Modi comes in for the BJP, whose ability to pull votes is enormous, experts say.
"In a sense, it reflects the high level of dependence the BJP has on the prime minister," says Prof Sandeep Shastri, political analyst and pro-vice chancellor at the Jagran Lakeside University in Bhopal.