Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra announced a protest on August 5 near the Gandhi Statue at Vidhana Soudha, targeting the Congress party’s alleged “anti-constitutional attitude” on the same day Rahul Gandhi is set to lead a demonstration at Freedom Park against claimed “vote theft” in elections. The BJP was denied permission to protest at Freedom Park due to Congress’ prior booking and law-and-order concerns, prompting the shift to Vidhana Soudha.

Vijayendra slammed Congress for undermining democratic institutions, particularly the Election Commission of India (ECI), following Gandhi’s allegations of electoral manipulation in Karnataka’s Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat and Bihar’s voter roll revisions. “If the ECI can be manipulated, how did Congress win 136 seats in Karnataka’s 2023 assembly polls and all three by-elections?” he questioned, accusing Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar of insulting voters by questioning the ECI’s integrity.

The BJP leader alleged that Congress’ claims stem from frustration over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and Gandhi’s unfulfilled prime ministerial ambitions. He challenged Gandhi to present his claimed “atom bomb” evidence of poll irregularities to the ECI or Supreme Court, rather than staging “drama” in Bengaluru. Vijayendra also demanded an apology from Gandhi for the June 4, 2025, Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede, which killed 11 during a Congress-organized job fair, attributing it to the “irresponsibility” of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

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The protest, involving BJP MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and former legislators, aims to counter Congress’ narrative and defend constitutional bodies. Political analysts see this as a strategic move to rally BJP’s base ahead of local elections, with 43% of Bengaluru’s voters favoring BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, per ECI data. Meanwhile, Congress’ allegations, backed by 1.8 lakh deleted voters in Bengaluru Central, have sparked a heated debate, with the Supreme Court set to hear related petitions on August 12.

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