BJP to join Nikhil’s padayatra from Bidadi against township project

Published 8 August 2026 · local

The Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party will jointly flag off a three-day padayatra from Bidadi to Bengaluru, led by JD(S) leader Nikhil

The Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party will jointly flag off a three-day padayatra from Bidadi to Bengaluru, led by JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy, opposing the Bidadi Township Project championed by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, on Sunday. The project has become a key flashpoint between Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Shivakumar. The JD(S) had announced the padayatra a few weeks ago, upsetting the BJP, who wanted to jointly fight against the project. These differences were reportedly sorted out at a meeting between party leaders on Saturday. After the meeting, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that he will flag off the padayatra on Sunday and senior BJP leaders will also participate in the inauguration event.

However, the padayatra will be led by Mr. Nikhil Kumaraswamy, sources said. It will begin at Bairamangala, the epicentre of protests against the project. The police have permitted the padayatra only till the border of Bengaluru city, sources said. While, Mr. Kumaraswamy termed the BJP’s role in the padayatra as “moral support”, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok said the BJP and the JD(S) will jointly fight against the project. He said the BJP had called upon its cadre to join the padayatra in large numbers and make it a success. Coordination to attack govt in session The meeting also focused on the issues that the Opposition will raise during the upcoming Monsoon Session to put the government on the backfoot.

Kumaraswamy said the government had disappointed people for how they took two months to expand the Cabinet and not been able to allocate portfolios yet. “There is a severe drought in the State and the government has failed to help the people in need,” he said, hinting at these issues figuring prominently in the upcoming session. He added that the Bidadi project will also be debated in the House. Ashok said that alleged scam in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), NICE project, Bidadi township and other issues will be raised in the session. He said the BJP and the JD(S) will jointly fight the government in the House and outside. Coordination Committee in the offing Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R.

Ashok said that soon a coordination committee with leaders from the BJP and the JD(S) will be formed. “I have recently met the party's high command and discussed this. Soon a coordination committee, with four-five leaders from both parties, will be formed. The committee will also have Union Ministers,” he said. “The BJP and the JD(S) are fighting jointly inside the House, now we will join forces outside as well. The committee will strengthen our fight. Even at the district level both parties will take up joint campaigns,” he said.