After initial signs of hitting top gear to make the most of its short tenure, the Congress government in Karnataka now seems to be struggling to find its rhythm.
A political setback over a minister’s resignation within four weeks of cabinet expansion, public anger over policy decisions, corruption allegations, and aggressive opposition that has set out on a padayatra to capitalize on its political gains seem to have put the think-tank in the Congress party and its government under immense strain.
Many of the initiatives the administration is aggressively championing face strong headwinds. The latest is the Bill to use park space for infrastructure projects. The state cabinet’s decision to withdraw the Karnataka Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill 2026 revealed a lack of foresight in getting the Bill passed in the Assembly and Council without any discussion.
The Opposition may have disrupted the legislative proceedings for political reasons, yet the government owes it to the people of the state to ensure that such Bills with far-reaching implications are passed only after proper deliberation in the legislature and in the public domain.
The government realized its folly only after facing public anger, which presented yet another opportunity for the opposition to corner the administration.
It was an avoidable controversy. Citizens are concerned about public spaces vanishing due to the compulsions of urbanization. That sentiment is deep-rooted in the “Garden City.” The government should have done due diligence before tabling the Bill. On a positive note, the government’s decision to withdraw the Bill, even if taken after pushback, shows its respect for citizens’ sentiments.
The decision to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising 10 senior ministers to discuss important issues before they reach the cabinet may be an attempt to strengthen the administration’s decision-making process. Perhaps that helps the government take a more considerate approach while implementing big projects.
Farmers opposing the township development project at Bidadi on the outskirts of Bengaluru have been protesting for over 560 days, while the tunnel road project, touted as one of many measures to address Bengaluru’s traffic congestion, also faces opposition from a section of citizens.
Continual political slugfest over alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitments, in which an IAS officer was arrested and the Commission chairman was suspended; corruption allegations; debate on the RSS and its work; a minister publicly talking about one religion being superior to all other religions and asking people not to visit temples or mutts, and other such issues take the focus away from the government’s initiatives. Despite some ministers trying hard to make a positive impact, the government appears to be struggling in the perception battle.
Take, for instance, Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Rai’s letter to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. He levelled serious allegations that engineers working with Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) were collecting a “7% additional charge” from contractors in the name of ministers. KRIDL defended its officers by claiming that they were executing the works by “deducting 3% service charges and 7% job savings and remitting the same to the KRIDL account.”
District in-charge minister UT Khader slammed the government agency, stating that he had kept it out of his constituency, citing a lack of accountability and concerns over work quality. The Opposition was quick to claim that the legislator’s allegations endorsed their charges of rampant corruption.
After B Nagendra resigned from the cabinet over his alleged involvement in financial irregularities in the ST Development Corporation, the BJP is pursuing its campaign against the government more aggressively. Diversion of the ST Development Corporation funds to private accounts; the government utilizing funds meant for the welfare of people from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for guarantee schemes; irregularities in the KPSC recruitments and failure to take adequate measures to provide relief to farmers suffering due to drought are among the issues the BJP is taking up during its 10-day padayatra from Raichur to Ballari.
The party leaders claim that the padayatra, which started on September 1, is getting a much better response than its protest march from Bengaluru to Mysuru regarding the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) sites allotment case against then CM Siddaramaiah.
The padayatra to highlight the state government’s failures may have helped to some extent to energise the BJP cadre and assert the state BJP chief BY Vijayendra’s leadership within the party. But the BJP has its own challenges. Forging unity among all its leaders, ensuring proper coordination with its NDA ally JDS, and sustaining its momentum against the state government are no mean tasks.
At times, Congress leadership looks wobbly and overconfident. Given DK Shivakumar’s organizational skills and strategic drive to bring the party back to power, the Opposition can underestimate the Congress at its own risk.
For now, the BJP and Congress are making all efforts to dominate the perception battle as they lay the groundwork for the 2028 assembly polls.
