Shyam Sundar Vattam
Mysuru
The BJP’s 10-day, 175-km “Ballari Chalo” padayatra, beginning from Lingasugur on Tuesday and culminating in Ballari on September 10, is much more than an agitation over the alleged multi-crore Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation irregularities.
For the saffron party, the march is an attempt to turn a corruption controversy into a political bridge to Ballari’s influential ST electorate and consolidate its position in a district where the Scheduled Tribe population has considerable electoral weight.
The BJP had initially planned the march to mount pressure on the Congress government for the removal of B. Nagendra, but his resignation has changed the political script. The party has now widened the campaign to include alleged corruption, unemployment, drought and other government failures. BJP leaders are projecting Nagendra’s resignation as a victory for their sustained agitation. State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra has declared that the resignation will be one of the issues raised during the padayatra, while senior leader and former minister B. Sriramulu has alleged that funds meant for ST development were diverted for political purposes. “Nagendra’s resignation is one of the issues. There are several other issues, including drought and unfilled vacancies, which we will raise during the padayatra,” added Vijayendra
But beneath the saffron show of strength lies a serious political dilemma. The BJP itself is not entirely united behind the march, with factional equations and competing leadership ambitions in the Ballari-Raichur belt threatening to dilute the impact of the campaign. The participation—or absence—of prominent leaders could therefore become as significant as the crowds along the route.
More importantly, the BJP risks walking into a political boomerang. Nagendra is an ST Nayaka leader, and his resignation marks the second time he has quit the ministerial post over the same controversy—first in 2024 and now in 2026. Congress is seeking to turn this into a narrative of an ST leader being politically targeted by the BJP. Nagendra himself has hit back, saying he is only an accused and not a convict. Congress is already preparing to rally the ST community around Nagendra and portray the BJP campaign as an attempt to politically exploit the controversy. “We want to show the other face of the Congress party to the Dalit community,” Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.
The Congress counter, however, could be equally potent: “Why target an ST leader twice when the investigation is still underway?” That argument could resonate if the community views the BJP’s campaign as political persecution rather than a fight for accountability. The BJP hopes the padayatra will convert the Valmiki controversy into anti-Congress sentiment in Ballari. But the real test will be whether it can separate the issue of alleged corruption from Nagendra’s community identity.
If the BJP succeeds, “Ballari Chalo” could become the launchpad for its 2028 campaign in the Kalyana Karnataka belt. If the ST community rallies behind Nagendra, the same march could end up strengthening Congress instead. The road to Ballari, therefore, is not merely a padayatra—it is a high-stakes political gamble.