Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday connected with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates and cadres through his personal mobile app and sounded the bugle for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls.

Talking to the party leaders and office-bearers through his mobile app, PM Modi accused the Congress of spreading “lies” and “false propaganda, and dividing society along caste lines.

Apparently referring to pre-poll surveys, the prime minister said “false propaganda” about a fractured mandate, with BJP as the single largest party, was being spread as part of a “conspiracy”.

These surveys have projected a cliffhanger of a contest in the only southern state where the BJP had its government once. They said the JD(S) of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda would play the role of a kingmaker after the polls.

“The Congress, after repeated defeat in elections, is spreading lies. Earlier, out of 50 things they said there were 5-10 lies. Now, out of the 50 things they say, 40-45 are lies and the rest five would also lack clarity,” he said.

Responding to a question from Karkala in Udupi district, by sitting MLA and candidate V. Sunil Kumar, on how the party members should campaign, Modi said the party must ensure as many women cadres were employed as men.

“Let each of the party worker attend few families of each constituency, by visiting them and listening to their problems and being with them till the time they vote. There’s no way we cannot win the election with this approach,” he said.

The party workers should also wear the BJP’s symbol ‘Lotus’ with pride till May 12, when the state elections would be held, he said.

“We must fight the upcoming elections on the issues of development and win people’s trust,” Modi told the party members from New Delhi through a 40-minute long digital interaction.

He asserted the development of the state was his party’s only agenda.

“BJP has a three-pronged agenda for Karnataka– development, fast paced development, all round development,” he said adding that “Our agenda is vikas, vikas, vikas (development, development and development).”

Polling will be held in a single phase for all the 224 assembly seats, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 15 for Scheduled Tribes (STs). The votes will be counted on May 15.

(With inputs from agencies)