Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his 5 day campaign for the Karnataka state elections yesterday. He will be in Karnataka for the next rally on 3rd May. If the rallies held on 1st May are to be taken as an indication of things to come, the remaining rallies should be a huge success for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The mass turnouts in all the three rallies held yesterday combined with the eagerness of the masses who were hanging on every word of their Prime Minister were a huge let down for the Congress leaders. The attempts made by incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to create a wall between the North and South by raising linguistic barriers have drastically failed. This was especially evident in the rally held in Udupi. His second rally for the day, PM Modi took to the stage with renewed vigour. The crowd waited for him to start, and when he did there was no stopping. It was probably the only time in the history of the state that the gathered crowd wanted the Kannada translator to keep quite.
The 50,000 strong crowd which had gathered for the Udupi rally was able and eager in understanding the Hindi used by PM Modi in his speech. The barriers of language and region were struck down effectively and swiftly by the crowd in the Udupi rally. The demands of a separate state flag, the mention of Southern rulers defeating Northern ones in the past, calling PM Modi and other leaders of the BJP ‘imports’, Congress had tried and done it all. The Congress leadership forgot that the public of Karnataka had seen through their game, they knew that a party which had been, and still is, in the hands of an ‘Italian’ could not accuse others of calling in imports. The divisive politics of Congress has failed big time in Karnataka.
PM Modi’s rallies demonstrated the trust that the public is willing to bestow on the shoulders of BJP in the upcoming elections. Udupi is but an example of what is soon going to follow- the end of caste, religion and language-based politics. The large crowd which hushed up the Kannada translator was not disrespecting the Kannada language but was in fact telling the rest of India that it welcomes every language and its speakers in Karnataka. Kannad culture is important to them, but it does not translate into shunning other languages and cultures they share so much with. The people have had enough of the divisive politics of the Congress. PM Modi does not stammer or falter when he takes the names of Kannadiga leaders and saints. His vocabulary might be limited in Kannada but he does not mispronounce a simple “Basava Vachana” in his speech like Rahul Gandhi.
The upcoming rallies, just like the ones held in Udupi yesterday will have people with big hearts accepting the unity of India. PM Modi has opened the doors to the South for other BJP leaders to follow, and the sentiment being shown by Karnataka voters will trickle further down south in the years to come. Its Karnataka today, it could be Kerala tomorrow. The goal of BJP and PM Modi to wave the saffron flag over the whole of India will soon be a reality. The flag bearers might speak different languages in different states, and they might come from different backgrounds, but they will share the same sentiments when carrying the Tricolour. India First!