In "Bachcha" Dig At Rahul Gandhi, Yeddyurappa Says BJP Will Win Karnataka

BS Yeddyurappa, the BJP's top leader in Karnataka, today described 47-year-old Congress president Rahul Gandhi as a "bachcha (child)," suggesting that his lack of age and experience will help the BJP get a big win in the state assembly elections now months away.

"By bringing that baccha to #Karnataka, we now know that we will win more than 150 seats here," said Mr Yeddyurappa, who is 74 and has behind him a political career of almost 50 years.

The BJP is chasing Mission 150, a target of winning 150 of Karnataka's 224 assembly seats to unseat the Congress, which took the state away from the BJP in 2013. Karnataka is the only southern state in which the BJP has formed the government.

Mr Gandhi, who campaigned in Karnataka only last week, will be back again for another three-day election tour of the state on Saturday. He is currently in Meghalaya, which votes next week, and has ripped into the BJP-led central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Nirav Modi bank scandal.

The Congress has promised that Rahul Gandhi will reprise in Karnataka his aggressive campaign in Gujarat last year, which is credited for the party's best performance in the state in years. The prestige battle for Gujarat, the home state of PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, was won by the BJP, which got a fifth straight term in power, but the Congress was not seen as a loser as it won many more seats than the last election and narrowed the victory margin.

Karnataka, the Congress reckons will be different. The party hopes another Rahul Gandhi campaign blitz will help it retain the state. Mr Gandhi has visited temples and Lingayat Mutts as part of his campaign.

The BJP too has begun its campaign for Karnataka with both Amit Shah and PM Modi having visited the state more than once. Amit Shah was most lately on a three-day visit of coastal Dakshina and Uttara Kannada districts.

At public rallies, Mr Shah has lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's government, calling it the "most corrupt ever" in the country and accusing it of "appeasement politics."

Mr Shah said the Karnataka Assembly polls are important for the BJP, which has won almost all state elections after the Modi government came to power at the Centre or has improved its tally, while the Congress lost everywhere except for Punjab.

The next BJP government will be headed by Mr Yeddyurappa and would work for the states' development, Mr Shah said.