Bidadi is more than just a township row: It's a fight for Vokkaliga heartland

Their antagonistic relationship is well known in Karnataka’s political circles. The rivalry between Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy has now intensified over the proposed Bidadi township in the state’s Vokkaliga heartland.

Also read: Will Karnataka’s Chief Minister DK Shivakumar hurt or heal Bengaluru?

The two leaders have exchanged open letters over the project and even challenged each other to a public debate. The confrontation has gained prominence because the Congress leader’s influence is rising in the Vokkaliga heartland, while the Janata Dal (Secular) chairman is struggling to keep his Vokkaliga-based party influential.

Not just a land acquisition row

The local farming community has already been divided by the proposed land acquisition for the township project in Bengaluru South district. While some, backed by the JD(S), are against the acquisition, the Congress has claimed that there are also those who are open to giving their land for the purpose.

However, the matter hasn’t stopped there. What began as a debate over land acquisition has now snowballed into a larger contest, including issues such as development, environmental concerns and above all, a struggle for political supremacy in the state’s Vokkaliga stronghold.

The Bidadi township row is not a new fight but the latest chapter in a rivalry that stretches back over two decades. Since the early 2000s, Shivakumar and the Deve Gowda family have been at odds over the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project. Then there are electoral reasons.

It was on June 11 that the Karnataka government issued the final notification for acquiring land in parts of Bidadi Hobli, an industrial suburb located around 35 kilometres south-west of Bengaluru in Bengaluru South district (formerly Ramanagara district) for the proposed Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT).

The government said the project is envisioned as a large urban extension of Bengaluru, to be developed across several thousand acres. A pet endeavour of Shivakumar, it is intended to emerge as Bengaluru’s second central business district with residential, commercial and industrial infrastructure and reduce pressure on the state capital.

However, Kumaraswamy or HDK, who has represented regions such as Channapatna and Ramanagara in the state Assembly in the past and currently serves as an MP from Mandya, also located in the Vokkaliga heartland, has opposed the CM’s vision.

HDK declines CM's invitation, calls him to Bidadi instead

He declined an invitation from Shivakumar (or DKS as he is popularly known as), who wanted the former to join an open talk at the Vidhana Soudha (Karnataka state legislature and secretariat building) in Bengaluru along with five representatives. The Union heavy industries and steel minister proposed instead a debate to be held at Byramangala near Bidadi, which would be open for the protesting farmers to take part. According to the JD(S) leader, any discussion on the township project should take place before the affected farmers than inside the legislature.

Also read: Karnataka MLC polls: DK Shivakumar calls the shots, leaves BJP, JD(S) in tatters

While Kumaraswamy has said that his fight is not against the chief minister but for the farmers who have been protesting the land acquisition, political observers say that the latest episode marks the latest chapter in a decades-old rivalry in Karnataka politics.

Since both Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy are the state’s two most influential Vokkaliga leaders at present, every major political confrontation between them is viewed as a fight for supremacy in the Old Mysuru region, where the community wields significant demographics and political power.

Shivakumar-Deve Gowda family tussle not new

The Bidadi township row is not a new fight but the latest chapter in a rivalry that stretches back over two decades. Since the early 2000s, Shivakumar and the Deve Gowda family have been at odds over the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project, trading accusations over land acquisition, project alignment, alleged irregularities and political credit in the very same Vokkaliga heartland they're fighting over today.

JD(S)'s electoral decline also a factor

There have also been electoral reasons for the rivalry. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress’s Tejaswini Gowda, backed by Shivakumar, defeated HD Deve Gowda, the sitting MP, in the now defunct Kanakapura constituency. Today, it has been succeeded by the Bengaluru Rural constituency, which includes areas such as Bidadi and Ramanagara.

Shivakumar, who had lost to a by-poll to the former prime minister in Kanakapura in the 2002 by-election, was credited with the Congress candidate’s win. It marked a significant blow to the JD(S) and flagged off an enduring political contest between Shivakumar and the Deve Gowda family.

Kumaraswamy is well aware of the fact that Shivakumar’s growing influence in what was the JD(S)’s own den once is a major threat to his party, which has seen a decline in recent years. The Congress’s sweeping victory in the 2023 Assembly elections and a strong comeback in the 2024 general elections in Karnataka have added to the regional party’s concerns despite it joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Also read: Is Krishna Byre Gowda emerging as Karnataka's new Vokkaliga vanguard, testing DKS' clout?

It is not that the JD(S) did not have its high moments. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, National Democratic Alliance candidate CN Manjunath defeated Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh in the Bengaluru Rural seat. However, Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, lost in both the Ramanagara Assembly seat in 2023 and the Channapatna Assembly bypoll in 2024 (after HDK himself vacated the seat to go to the Centre) against candidates backed by Shivakumar.

JD(S) crumbles in MLC polls

The JD(S) also faced humiliation in the recent Legislative Council elections where it failed to win a single seat, and its candidate got less number of votes than the JD(S)’s seats in the Assembly, exposing widespread cross-voting and the party’s internal problems.

With the next Assembly elections in Karnataka less than two years away, Kumaraswamy appears determined to reclaim his political dominance in the Vokkaliga belt, particularly after Shivakumar’s elevation as the chief minister. His aggressive opposition to the Bidadi township project is widely seen as an attempt towards that goal.

BJP caught in crossfire

The BJP, which is also eyeing a return to power in the state but failed to deliver in the Legislative Council elections, has found itself placed uncomfortably. While its ally has taken the lead in opposing the township, Shivakumar has claimed that he briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the project and that the latter appreciated the concept, referring to similar township models developed in Gujarat. Shivakumar has questioned why the BJP should oppose a project in the state after it received positive feedback from its top leader, creating unease in its ranks.

The saffron party has been left playing a balancing game to avoid a direct confrontation with the JD(S) over the Bidadi project. Its limited electoral clout in the Vokkaliga belt, where the contest remains restricted between the Congress and the JD(S), makes it a secondary force in a snowballing political tussle, and the Congress would not be complaining.

Development versus farmers’ rights

Backing the township project, Shivakumar has said that the initiative would create employment, attract investment and decongest Bengaluru. He has promoted it as an AI-enabled township which would be equipped with housing, commercial spaces, industries and technology-driven infrastructure.

On compensating those who part with their land, the government has said that they will receive either financial compensation or developed land. Generation of employment, betterment of infrastructure and a boost in investment would see an overall growth in the Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor, the claim goes. The region is already fed by a revamped expressway.

Also read: Can new CM DK Shivakumar deliver for Congress in 2028, 2029? | Capital Beat

Kumaraswamy, however, has strongly opposed the proposal, alleging that the government is acquiring fertile agricultural land despite widespread resistance from farmers. He also challenged the CM to visit the villages and hear the concerns of farmers directly instead of relying on official presentations.

Shivakumar’s challenges

Despite his growing influence in the Vokkaliga bastion, CM Shivakumar also has his share of challenges. The leader, whose position on the project today contradicts that when the land acquisition was first proposed during Kumaraswamy’s stint as the chief minister in the mid-2000s, has faced objections from within his party, too.

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Senior leaders of his government, including Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Home Minister Priyank Kharge and B K Hariprasad, the chief of the state Congress, have said that the government should not acquire land without farmers’ consent. They also advised that the project could be shifted elsewhere if people were against it. For a chief minister who is yet to complete a month in office, such voices send a message of deep disunity.

As the DKS-HDK clash over the GBIT controversy continues, it is to be seen who maintains the pressure on the other side to make it blink and gain a psychological and political lead ahead of the next big electoral tests in the state.