BENGALURU: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Vidhana Soudha Muttige’ on Monday to demand the resignation of minister B Nagendra, whom the party has accused of corruption, in an opposition campaign that has kept the DK Shivakumar government on the back foot over the minister’s induction into the cabinet and the death of three persons in Chamarajanagar in an encounter. The scale of Monday’s mobilisation appeared to catch the police off-guard.
Shortly before 9,45am, BJP cadres marched towards Vidhana Soudha in large numbers, forcing police to scramble to call in reinforcements to stave off any untoward incident -- a sign that the party had deliberately started the protest to project strength rather than stage a token demonstration. The show of force was matched by a heavyweight leadership lineup, an indication that the Nagendra issue has become central to the BJP’s opposition strategy in the state.
State president BY Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, and Opposition Chief Whip in the Council N Ravikumar led the demonstration, flanked by former deputy CM Dr CN Ashwathnarayan, former minister B Sriramulu, and a wide cross-section of MLCs, MLAs and district-level office-bearers drawn across Bengaluru’s four organisational divisions.
The participation -- spanning senior state leadership down to district and division in-charges —suggests the party is treating the Nagendra affair not as an isolated flashpoint but a rallying issue around which to organise sustained street pressure on the government, ahead of what is likely to be a longer contest over accountability and cabinet composition.
Whether Monday’s show of numbers translates into sustained momentum, or whether the government can ride out the pressure as it has with previous opposition campaigns, will determine how much political cost the Congress ultimately bears from the affair - and whether the BJP can convert it into a broader narrative highlighting the failures of the Congress.