Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President B.Y. Vijayendra on Tuesday, 1 September declared that the party's offensive against the state's ruling Congress government had formally commenced, asserting the fight would extend well beyond the 10-day 'Ballari Chalo' padyatra from Lingasugur to Ballari. Speaking ahead of the protest march, Vijayendra said, 'The new era of the Bharatiya Janata Party will begin from today.'

March Begins with Temple Prayers

Vijayendra addressed reporters after offering prayers at the Sri Amareshwara Temple in Gurugunta, Raichur district, before the padyatra got under way. He alleged that the Karnataka government was 'corrupt, anti-people and anti-Dalit,' framing the march as a moral reckoning for the ruling dispensation.

The BJP president also claimed the government had already been forced into a defensive posture. 'Fearing our fight, one corrupt minister has already resigned. The government was forced into such a situation. The government had yielded when we announced the padyatra and accepted the resignation,' he said.

Nagendra Resignation: The Trigger

The resignation Vijayendra referred to is that of Minister for Planning and Statistics B. Nagendra, who stepped down after the BJP announced sustained agitation and disrupted the Monsoon Assembly session. The party had alleged Nagendra's role in irregularities within the tribal welfare board. His exit was widely seen as a political win for the opposition ahead of the march.

Key Leaders Set to Participate

The padyatra is expected to draw senior BJP figures from across the state. Former Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa — Vijayendra's father — is scheduled to inaugurate the march. Former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, Opposition Leader in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former ministers B. Sriramulu and Shivanagouda Nayak, local MLA Manappa Vajjal, and party leader Bangaru Hanumanthu are among those expected to join.

Vijayendra noted that leaders from North Karnataka would participate in significant numbers, and described the padyatra as 'historic.' He said the enthusiasm among party workers was high.

BJP's Long-Term Political Calculus

The BJP president made clear the march is not a standalone event but the opening salvo of a sustained opposition campaign. 'The padayatra may conclude on September 10, but our fight against this government will continue,' he said, adding that the party intended to expose alleged failures and corruption over the next one-and-a-half to two years.

'We will expose the colour of this anti-people and corrupt government. We will uproot this government completely. Our fight will continue until then,' Vijayendra said, calling for a BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to return to power in Karnataka. Notably, he stressed that the scale of participation mattered less than the duration and intensity of the campaign — a signal that the party is bracing for a prolonged battle ahead of the next state election cycle.