Minister of Planning, Programme and Statistics B Nagendra— Screengrab/Facebook

MANGALURU: B Nagendra’s resignation from the Karnataka Cabinet has brought Ballari’s recent political history back into focus. In the last 15 years, the district has seen several of its ministers lose their positions either following controversies, political pressure, a change of government or a Cabinet reshuffle.

Nagendra’s case stands out because he has now quit twice over the alleged Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.

He first resigned as a minister in the Siddaramaiah 2.0 government following allegations related to the scam. After DK Shivakumar took charge as Chief Minister following the change in leadership, Nagendra returned to the Cabinet only to resign as pressure over the same issue mounted.

The latest resignation came after the BJP stepped up its campaign against the Congress government over the alleged irregularities in the Valmiki Corporation.

Though the BJP has been a divided Opposition on several issues, it managed to disrupt the recent Assembly session and had announced a padayatra from Raichur to Ballari to highlight the issue.
The proposed padayatra would have taken the BJP’s campaign directly into Ballari, Nagendra’s political stronghold, at a time when the issue was threatening to turn into a larger political issue for the Congress in the district and neighbouring areas.

Nagendra finally stepped down, becoming the first minister to resign from the Cabinet headed by Shivakumar. His resignation has also added another chapter to the political history of ministers associated with Ballari.

At least five ministers from or associated with the district have either resigned or lost their ministerial positions over the past 15 years, though the circumstances in each case were different.
The first major episode goes back to the BJP government headed by BS Yediyurappa.

Mining barons G Janardhan Reddy and B Sriramulu were prominent ministers in his Cabinet. Both faced allegations related to illegal mining but continued in the Cabinet until Yediyurappa resigned as Chief Minister in 2011. When DV Sadananda Gowda took over, both were left out of the new Cabinet.

The Congress’s return to power in 2013 brought another episode involving a minister associated with Ballari. Santosh Lad, who hails from Ballari and who was then the Congress MLA from Kalaghatagi, was appointed Minister of State for Information and Infrastructure Development and was given charge of Ballari.

Amid allegations related to illegal mining, Lad resigned in November 2013, becoming the first minister to quit Siddaramaiah’s six-month-old government. He returned to the Cabinet about three years later after coming clean on the issue.

PT Parameshwar Naik, who represented Huvinahadagali and served as Labour Minister, also found himself at the centre of a controversy during Siddaramaiah’s first term. He faced criticism over the alleged transfer of DySP Anupama Shenoy after she reportedly failed to respond to his phone call.

The Opposition used the episode to target the Siddaramaiah government, and Naik eventually lost his ministerial position in the 2016 Cabinet reshuffle.

After taking charge as a minister in the Siddaramaiah 2.0 government, he resigned amid the Valmiki Corporation scam allegations.

His return to the Cabinet after the change in leadership under Shivakumar, followed by his second resignation over the same controversy, has made his case unusual in the district’s recent political history.

The BJP’s sustained campaign has been an important factor in Nagendra’s latest exit.
For Ballari, Nagendra’s resignation is thus the latest in a series of ministerial exits involving the district.


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