Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a determined bid to woo farmers in this Lingayat-dominated district on poll eve while echoing his charges of corruption against the Siddaramiah government.

Addressing a large gathering in the district, once known as the Manchester of Karnataka, the Prime Minister detailed the host of pro- farmers schemes which his government had launched during the recent budget including higher MSP to farmers along with incentives for horticulture while reiterating his Soil health card scheme for better farm yield.

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In contrast, he said the ruling Congress under Siddharamiah had done little for the farmers of the state, becoming notorious, instead, for rampant corruption which is why it was known as the “ten per cent government”.

Mr Modi, who was here to celebrate the 75th birthday of Mr B S Yeddyurappa, party’s state unit chief and chief ministerial candidate, said that if voted to power, the BJP would bring about a sea-change in governance. The focus, he asserted, would be the benefit of all citizens with special emphasis on the farmers whose contribution to the state and the nation could not be over-emphasised.

In this context, he also referred to the host of central schemes which his government had launched in 48 -odd months it had been in power. In comparison, he asserted that in over 48 years that the Congress had ruled the country, headed by one family, it had done little of note to benefit the farmers.

In fact, while the Central governments under Congress had doled out pittance to Karnataka, the NDA government had gone out of its way to encourage development of the state.This was evident from the huge sums which were allocated under different schemes whether it be for purchase of foodgrains, swatch Bharat or, for that matter, the Smart Cities programme.

Unfortunately, the state government had yet to utilise the full amounts allocated for these schemes. This only showed the lack of concern for the people of the state as its leaders were more interested in running a corrupt administration, he alleged.

In the same vein, while taking pride in the fact that none of the central ministers in his government were tainted, he said the Siddaramiah government had leaders from whose residences unaccounted money was discovered. “Where did all this come from” he wondered while reiterating his charge of brazen corruption against the Congress-ruled government in the state.

Davengere district, incidentally, has eight assembly seats and the Congress had won seven in the last elections in 2013. In 2008, however, the BJP had romped home with six of the eight seats, a performance that the party is determined to repeat, if not improve, this time.

Incidentally, the BJP had fared poorly in 2013 as Mr Yeddyurappa, recognised as a Lingayat leader, had broken away from the parent party to form the Karnataka Janata Paksh.

He realised the avowed objective of humiliating the BJP, which lost power in the 2013 elections, by splitting his parent party’s votes. His KJP party barely managed six seats in all in the state, though.

Now, that Yedurappa is back in the parent party’s fold, even nominated as its chief ministerial candidate, the BJP is confident of doing well not only in the Lingayat dominated district but also in major parts of north Karnataka where the community holds sway.

Modi also referred to Raitha Bandhu Yeddyurappa campaign, emphasising the leader’s commitment to help the lot of the farmer community.