Tensions between BJP MLA and former Karnataka minister Janardhan Reddy and Congress legislator Nara Bharath Reddy have been simmering for years, dating back to a sharp verbal clash during the Karnataka Assembly’s Winter Session two years ago. Though brief, that confrontation exposed the deep political rivalry between the two leaders.

The rivalry turned violent on January 1, when supporters of Janardhan Reddy, the Gangawati MLA, and Bharath Reddy, who represents Ballari City, clashed near Reddy’s residence. The confrontation reportedly began after Janardhan Reddy objected to a banner featuring Bharath Reddy’s photograph being placed close to his house. The banner was linked to a January 3 event marking the unveiling of a Valmiki statue.

As the situation escalated, police intervened and fired multiple rounds. During the chaos, a Congress worker named Rajashekar lost his life. Following the incident, Bharath Reddy accused Janardhan Reddy of deliberately triggering the violence to prevent the statue’s inauguration and demanded his arrest. He said he had exercised restraint in the interest of peace despite severe provocation.

Janardhan Reddy, however, denied the allegations and blamed Bharath Reddy, his father Suryanarayana Reddy, and uncle Pratap Reddy for instigating the clash. He claimed repeated warnings were issued against installing the banner, including by police and BJP leader B Sriramulu, but were ignored. Reddy also alleged there was an attempt on his life and formally sought Z-category security from the state and central governments.

The Congress-led Karnataka government ordered an inquiry into the incident and suspended Ballari Superintendent of Police Pavan Nejjur, who had taken charge only a day earlier. State Home Minister G Parameshwara later said the government was considering transferring the case to the Crime Investigation Department. Complaints from both sides have resulted in four FIRs, naming Janardhan Reddy, Bharath Reddy, and Sriramulu among others.

According to the Home Minister, preliminary findings suggest that the bullet that killed the Congress worker did not come from a police weapon but from a privately owned firearm. Forensic examination of the bullet is ongoing.

The incident has further strained relations between the Congress and the BJP. Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar said Ballari had remained peaceful until Janardhan Reddy returned to active politics in the region. He accused Reddy and his allies of attempting to revive the era when Ballari was allegedly controlled by powerful interests, adding that the Congress would not allow a repeat of that phase. The government, he said, has seized private firearms in the district and plans to introduce stricter gun ownership rules.

The BJP rejected these claims. Leader of Opposition R Ashok described the violence as a politically motivated conspiracy against Janardhan Reddy and criticised the state government’s handling of the situation. He said the BJP had little faith in the police investigation and demanded either a judicial inquiry or a probe by the CBI.

Ballari has long been a politically sensitive region, with both the Congress and the BJP competing for dominance since the decline of the Janata Dal’s influence in Kalyana Karnataka. For nearly two decades, Janardhan Reddy and his brothers played a decisive role in the region’s politics, bolstered by mining wealth and strong local support.

Although Janardhan Reddy was jailed in 2011 over illegal mining allegations and later barred by the Supreme Court from entering Ballari for several years, his influence continued through family networks. After returning to electoral politics, he won the Gangawati seat in 2023 under his own party but faced resistance as the Congress swept Ballari district. Seeking to regain political ground, he merged his party with the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, marking his return to the party more than a decade after his expulsion.