Will a Narendra Modi blitzkrieg help BJP regain its lost bastion, Hubli?

Hubli: Hoping to revive its base in North Karnataka where it had suffered a setback in the last Assembly elections, the BJP has chosen Hubli for the next rally of its Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi in the state .

The state party unit is waiting for the Gujarat Chief Minister to give it a date for the rally which it believes could revive its fortunes in the belt , particularly as Hubli is the home turf of BJP state chief, Prahlad Joshi and former Chief Minister, Jagadish Shettar.

"The date of the rally could be finalised before elections to the Lok Sabha are announced. It is bound to energise workers at the grassroots here as a majority of BJP MPs from the state hail from the region," said Lingaraj Patil, president of Hubli-Dharwad Mahanagar Zilla BJP unit, adding, "We are optimistic Modi's rally will help the party bounce back in North Karnataka."

The state executive committee of the party which met in Bangalore recently, has decided to hold similar rallies in other parts of North Karnataka like Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bellary and Koppal in December or January.

Meanwhile, BJP MPs ,who are anxious about the Karnataka Janata Party( KJP) of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa splitting their votebank , especially in Haveri and Dharwad districts, are strongly advocating his return to the party. Most MPs from Mumbai-Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions are said to have upped the pressure on the high command to bring Yeddyurappa back to BJP.