BENGALURU: This is not the first time that politics has played a part in the naming or renaming of a road. In 2011, when BJP members proposed to rename 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Congress members created a ruckus in the Council.
This was because in 2006, the then Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Council had passed resolution to name the road after noted Kannada folklorist Dr S K Karim Khan. With the BJP in power, members favoured to rename it after Vajpayee. In 2014, after a protest, BBMP renamed it after Karim Khan.
Major junctions too are not spared. The junction near Chandra Layout post office is on the border of Vijayanagar and Govindarajanagar constituencies. During 2013-14, then councillor of Nagarbhavi ward (Govindarajnagar constituency) Umesh Shetty of BJP wanted the junction named after Swami Vivekananda, while K Doddanna (Congress) of Attiguppe ward in Vijayanagar constituency wanted it to be named after Ganapathi Temple near the junction.
Even today, the junction is known by the landmarks nearby like the post office and the temple. Adding to the confusion is the four boards on either side of the junction. On one side, two boards have names of Attiguppe ward councillor and Vijayanagar MLA. On the other side of the road, the boards have the names of Nagarbhavi councillor and Govindarajnagar MLA.
In the most recent instance, Mayor Padmavathi (Congress) proposed to rename a major road in Rajajinagar as ‘Freedom fighter Gopal Road’ after her father Gopalappa. BJP members wanted to retain its name as Sri Rama Mandir road. BBMP has called for objections from the public.