Exceptional Fervour in NDA's favour, says Modi ahead of three South rallies

Chennai/Hyderabad/Bengaluru: Ahead of his multiple engagements in the region on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there is "exceptional fervour" in favour of the NDA in the south, where the BJP is making all efforts to make significant gains in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

On Monday, the PM will address rallies in Shivamogga in Karnataka and Telangana's Jagtial, besides holding a roadshow in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

"I will be addressing rallies in Jagtial and Shivamogga today. Later in the evening, will join the roadshow in Coimbatore. Be it Telangana, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, there is exceptional fervour in the NDA's favour," Modi said in a post on social media platform X.

I will be addressing rallies in Jagtial and Shivamogga today. Later in the evening, will join the roadshow in Coimbatore. Be it Telangana, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, there is exceptional fervour in the NDA’s favour.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 18, 2024

The Prime Minister's rally in Shivamogga, which is former Chief Minister and BJP Parliamentary board member B S Yediyurappa's home turf, comes at a time when disgruntled party leader K S Eshwarappa has announced plans to contest as an independent from the Shimoga constituency after his son was denied a ticket for the Haveri seat.

BJP has fielded Yediyurappa's elder son B Y Raghavendra from Shimoga.

Modi's rally in Jagtial, part of the Nizamabad constituency, is expected to have an impact on the neighbouring Karimnagar seat, both of which were won by BJP in 2019. The party is looking to better its tally of four out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, in 2024.

In Coimbatore, the Prime Minister's roadshow comes after the party had to approach the Madras High Court for allowing the event after the local police denied permission citing "communally sensitive" nature of the area and ongoing public exams as reasons.

The district has favoured the BJP in the past, electing present Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan twice to the Lok Sabha in the 90s and voting the party's National President of the women's wing leader Vanathi Srinivasan to the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2021.

The three rallies are an indication of BJP's fervent efforts to make deep political inroads in the southern states in a bid to achieve its stated goal of 400 Lok Sabha seats in this election.

The party is aiming to make a good haul of the available 131 Lok Sabha seats in the five southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, besides the Puducherry and Lakshadweep union territories.

In the outgoing House, BJP has no representation from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which have 20 and 39 seats, respectively.