Mysuru – A day after a Congress‑BJP face‑off at Maharani Government PU College over a programme organized by Congress MLA K. Harish Gowda concerning an alleged NEET paper leak, the BJP stepped up its criticism on Thursday. Former Chamaraja BJP MLA L. Nagendra claimed that the Congress turned the educational institution into a political platform, dragging students into the event. He questioned the state government’s stance, asking whether the PU Department would similarly allow the BJP to hold political programmes on college campuses.

Nagendra also slammed the police for allegedly failing to remove a large banner displayed on the college premises. He argued that if the Congress wanted to protest the alleged NEET leak, it should have done so at a public venue rather than a government college, thereby avoiding student involvement.

Former Mysuru‑Kodagu MP Pratap Simha joined the attack, saying the MLA could not attract public participation and therefore relied on students to fill the venue. “The MLA could not mobilise people for the programme, which shows he is losing his support base in the constituency,” Simha said, noting that only about one and a half years remain before the next assembly elections.

Simha added that he was not intimidated by Congress workers shouting slogans during Wednesday’s altercation, stating, “I have faced such slogan‑shouting many times during my tenure as MP. This is nothing new to me.”

With both Nagendra eyeing a political comeback from the Chamaraja constituency and Simha signalling his willingness to contest the next assembly poll, the BJP leaders used the Maharani College controversy to target MLA Harish Gowda, who defeated Nagendra in the 2023 assembly election.