Bengaluru, Dec 12 (IANS): Buoyed by the success at Gujarat Assembly polls as well as taking a message of caution from the outcome of Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is now focusing on the 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka.

To repeat the feat in Karnataka, the saffron party is planning to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state three to four times in January and February.

Union Minister for Coal, Mining and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi has announced that PM Modi will inaugurate the prestigious IIT-Dharwad in January first week. IIT-Dharwad is dubbed as the dream project of the north Karnataka region.

The BJP leaders are also set to invite PM Modi for a massive farmers' convention which would be held in Belagavi to appeal to the voters of north and Kalyana Karnataka regions. The prime minister will also inaugurate the airshow which will be held in Bengaluru in February.

Sources in the BJP said that though Gujarat kind of road shows are not planned, it will be seen to it that PM Modi makes many trips to Karnataka.

The ruling BJP has been challenged by the Hindu activists in the state. Sri Rama Sena Founder Pramod Muthalik has announced that he will ensure the defeat of BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections.

On the other hand, Hindu Mahasabha has also pitched against the ruling party and was saying that the BJP was only doing lip service to Hindutva with its main objective of capturing power. Sri Rama Sena and Hindu Mahasabha have always been loyal and staunch supporters of the BJP in the coastal and north Karnataka region. AA

With these parties pitching in against the BJP, it has become a cause of worry for the saffron party. These parties are capable of causing damage to the party in the coastal region, which is regarded as the bastion of BJP. Pramod Muthalik has a significant hold over the party workers in north Karnataka region and other districts of the state as well.

In this background, BJP leaders have told the high command that PM Modi's presence and speeches are expected to make a turnaround for the party. Since Hindu workers are hostile, only PM Modi's words can assuage them and bring them back to the fold of BJP, said sources.