Braving hot and humid conditions, about 5,000 party cadres, including women, accompanied Shah's convoy on foot, motorbikes and cycles as the procession wound its way through Banashankari area in the city's southern suburb.

Party's state unit leaders, including B.S. Yeddyurappa, Tejaswini Ananth Kumar and Surya stood along Shah atop the hi-tech bus, customised for electioneering across the southern state.

Addressing the crowds who gathered in hundreds en route, Shah said the party fielded young Surya to contest from the high-profile parliamentary seat in view of the demographic dividend the constituency has with lakhs of techies employed in IT firms like Infosys, Wipro, and TCS living in the area.

Waving party flags, sporting saffron placards and raising slogans in favour of Surya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yeddyurappa, the BJP leaders urged the gathering to vote for the party's lotus symbol on the ballot box.

As the 10 p.m. deadline to stop campaign was nearing, Shah and his entourage made a quick exit from the venue.

Bangalore South will go to polls on April 18 with 13 others of the state's 28 constituencies. Polling to the other 14 will be held on April 23. Vote count is on May 23.