The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began a ten‑day padayatra on Tuesday, marching from Lingasugur in Raichur district to Ballari. Former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa flagged off the walk after a public meeting, accompanied by BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra, opposition leader R. Ashok, former chief ministers Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai, legislative council opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanswamy and former minister C.T. Ravi. Yediyurappa described the trek as a campaign against the “misrule and corruption” of the Congress government.
The padayatra was initially launched to demand the resignation of Planning and Statistics Minister B. Nagendra over alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. Although Nagendra stepped down, the BJP expanded the protest to include accusations of broader corruption, diversion of funds earmarked for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, inadequate drought relief and perceived neglect of North Karnataka. Vijayendra said the party would pursue the recovery of the “₹187 crore” allegedly misappropriated in the Valmiki case and claimed that “₹50,000 crore” meant for SC/ST guarantee schemes had been diverted.
Leaders highlighted the drought situation, asserting that more than 200 taluks were facing water scarcity while only 101 had been officially declared drought‑hit. Ashok contended that 175 taluks were affected and urged the government to declare the remaining 74 within a week, warning that failure would label the administration “bankrupt.” The BJP also accused the state of discriminating between constituencies represented by Congress and BJP legislators in drought assessments and of withholding funds for major irrigation projects in North Karnataka, including the Navali Balancing Reservoir, the Nandawadagi Lift Irrigation Project and the Upper Krishna Project.
Yediyurappa predicted another senior minister would resign in the coming days and expressed confidence that the BJP would regain power in the 2028 Assembly elections. Bommai added that the current government had reversed reservation increases for SCs and STs made during his tenure, underscoring the party’s criticism of Congress policies.
