Karnataka: Defensive Congress govt cuts Amul outlets in metro stations to two after BJP, JDS play Nandini card

Coming under attack after the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) allowed popular dairy brand Amul to open its kiosks at 10 metro stations, the state’s Congress regime slashed this number to two after the opposition BJP & JDS went by the same playbook the Congress and its state’s chief DK Shivakumar used against the BJP ahead of the 2023 assembly polls.

On Wednesday, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and the ruling Congress found themselves at the centre of a controversy after the BMRCL awarded the tender for 10 Amul kiosks at metro stations through a global tender. Karnataka Cooperative Milk Federation (KMF), which owns Karnataka’s flagship dairy brand Nandini, had not participated in the tender.

Shivakumar jumped into a damage control mode on Wednesday, saying Amul had already opened two kiosks and it may not be appropriate to ask the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Federation to shut them. He would instead ask the KMF to open the Nandini outlets at the remaining nine stations.


The HD Kumaraswamy-led JDS, an ally of the BJP, ratcheted up the issue suggesting Shivakumar has allowed outside dairy brands (read Amul) to open shops at metro stations at the expense of Nandini brand. The BMRCL is part of Shivakumar’s ministerial portfolio, and Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar are sworn political enemies.

The regional party accused the Dy CM that the Congress, which exploited the Nandini issue for the election campaign in 2023, forgot about it after coming to power and is now laying out red carpet to outside milk brands.

BJP MP (Bangalore Central) PC Mohan said the Congress falsely accused the BJP of favouring outsiders before the 2023 assembly polls. But the same Congress government has permitted Amul outlets at metro stations, he said, calling the permission, “a classic case of hypocrisy.” In a post on X, he said, “Calling it a “global tender” but receiving only one application raises serious doubts about transparency and outreach. The process appears flawed.”

Weeks before Karnataka faced the assembly polls in May 2023, Shivakumar was at the vanguard of a campaign to save Nandini after Amul tweeted about its planned entry into the Bangalore market. He visited a Nandini parlour in Hassan and sipped its beverage and tasted products in a symbolic show of solidarity for the state’s dairy brand.

Shivakumar and his brother, DK Suresh, then Lok Sabha member, had attacked the BJP regime saying it had endangered the livelihood of dairy farmers by allowing market access to Amul in Bengaluru.

The Amul vs Nandini had snowballed into a major election issue two years ago when Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah talked about cooperation between the two organisations on a visit to Karnataka in December 2022.