The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, 3 November staged a protest march in Kolar, Karnataka, under the banner of 'Save Democracy, Eradicate Anarchy', directly accusing the Indian National Congress and its leaders of attempting to destabilise democratic institutions and foment unrest across the country. The march drew senior party figures including BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

Key Allegations Against Congress

Vijayendra alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party were unable to accept the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had led the NDA to a third consecutive term at the Centre. He claimed the opposition was working to create anarchy through protests in Delhi and, in a sharper charge, alleged that similar attempts had been made to stir unrest in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and France. The BJP, he said, was conducting the march to build public awareness against what he termed 'anti-national forces.'

Vijayendra also alleged that the Congress lacked confidence in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and even the Supreme Court. He announced the protest campaign would move to Chitradurga on Wednesday.

Yediyurappa Targets Congress 'Conspiracy'

Former Chief Minister and BJP Parliamentary Board member B.S. Yediyurappa accused the Congress of actively conspiring to undermine India's democratic system. He expressed confidence that the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) would jointly form an NDA government in Karnataka after the next Assembly elections. Yediyurappa also alleged rampant corruption under the current Congress state government and criticised repeated price hikes on milk and essential commodities, saying citizens were struggling to cope.

Opposition Leader Ashoka on EVMs and Governance

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R. Ashoka alleged that Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and others had joined hands to engineer political instability. He specifically targeted the Congress's stance on EVMs, saying, 'It is the habit of the Congress to remain silent when it wins elections using EVMs and question the machines when it loses. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself had introduced the voting machine system.'

Ashoka further alleged that the state government lacked funds to carry out basic road repairs and claimed the Congress would lose future elections due to governance failures, not because of any EVM issues. He maintained that were elections to be held immediately in Karnataka, the Congress would suffer a decisive defeat.

Campaign Continues, Senior Leaders Present

The Kolar march was attended by a broad cross-section of senior BJP Karnataka leadership, including party in-charge Harish Dwivedi, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Minister Byrathi Basavaraj, former Deputy Chief Minister Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayan, former MP Muniswamy, former MLC Narayanaswamy, district president Om Shakti Chalapathi, State Yuva Morcha president and MLA Dheeraj Muniraju, and former MLA Varthur Prakash.

The campaign represents the BJP's organised counter-offensive ahead of the next Karnataka Assembly elections, framing the EVM and SIR controversy as a Congress attempt to delegitimise electoral outcomes rather than a genuine procedural concern.