Karnataka Elections: Amit Shah Rents Bungalow in Central Bengaluru

The bungalow was rented out by the BJP and will be used as the official residence and office of Amit Shah.

Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, BJP president Amit Shah has rented out a house in Fairfield Layout in Bengaluru, from where he will be monitoring the party’s activities. 

(Photo: Arun Dev/The Quint)

“Until the elections, Karnataka BJP’s headquarters has been shifted from Malleshwaram to Fairfield Layout,” joked one of the party workers waiting outside the duplex bungalow in Fairfield Layout, in the heart of Bengaluru.

The bungalow was rented out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and would be used as the official residence and office of the party’s national president, Amit Shah, who would be closely monitoring the elections from Karnataka.

On the night of 17 April, Shah arrived at his new home and began using it as the base for all campaign activities in the state.

Fairfield Layout is located less than 2 km from the seat of power, the Vidhan Soudha. Although the BJP has kept how much it is paying as rent a secret, the neighbouring bungalows in the upmarket residential area draw a rent of Rs 3 to 5 lakh a month, said local police.

Shah Wants to Monitor Elections From Ground Zero

Although Shah rented the house, sources in the BJP said he would not be staying in the state till the end of elections as expected. “As a matter of fact, he will be returning to New Delhi on Thursday, 19 April. But, the decision to rent a house was taken because he wanted to spend more time in Karnataka and monitor the party’s activities closely,” said a senior BJP leader.

Bengaluru police said the BJP’s original plan was to the rent a house in Yelahanka in North Bengaluru, in a location closer to the international airport. However, as Shah has Z-level security, a decision was made to move him closer to the city and to a location which was ideal for security arrangements.

Lingayats Protest Against Shah

Amit Shah pays tribute to Lingayat leader Basavanna’s statue on the occasion of Basava Jayanti. (Photo Courtesy: Karnataka BJP)

Several members of the Lingayat community were arrested by the police, after they staged a protest against Shah near Chalukya circle, located less than a kilometre from the bungalow. Shah was to attend a function honouring Lingayat leader Basaveshwara on the occasion of Basava Jayanthi.

The protesters demanded that Shah make his stand clear on the demand for Lingayat as a separate religion, and ask the government to approve the recommendation for the same. However, before his arrival, the police dispersed the protesters from the location.

Shah’s Trusted Lieutenants Given Charge of Various Regions

With elections less than a month away, Shah has given his trusted lieutenants responsibility to closely monitor the different regions of Karnataka.

While Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Piyush Goyal have been given the charge of the Karnataka elections, organisational charge of the election has been given to Karnataka’s RSS strongmen BL Santosh and Arun Kumar.

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BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who is one of the go-to strategists for Shah, has been given the charge of the Hyderabad Karnataka region, which accounts for 40 seats. Responsibility of the Lingayat heartland and one of the crucial regions, Bombay Karnataka, has been given to Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav. Bengaluru region will be monitored by Maharashtra MLA Ashish Shelar, while Siddaramaiah’s home turf of Old Mysore Region will be handled by former Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay.

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