Ministers Vinay Kulkarni and MB Patil, who came to prominence with the issue of separate religion for Lingayat community in Karnataka, are facing similar challenges in their respective constituencies in the assembly polls. Vinay Kulkarni, who belongs to a Lingayat sub-caste Panchamsaali, will be facing a tough challenge from the BJP candidate Amrut Desai in Dharwad.
With former finance minister Yashwant Sinha having quit the BJP, all eyes were on another dissenter Shatrughan Sinha. Both Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha have on several occasions strongly criticised Modi-led government's decisions openly. Shatrughan Sinha was a Union Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. He has been with the BJP for a long time.
BJP president Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the Congress in Sonia Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. In a rally, Shah said vowed the free Rae Bareli from dynasty politics, adding "Congress has fooled the people of Rae Bareli". Rae Bareli has remained a Congress stronghold decades.