The BJP and the Congress are locked in an intense battle targeting the rival blocs of land grab in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, respectively. While Congress has trained its guns on MP chief minister Mohan Yadav, accusing him of being involved in an alleged land scam in Ujjain, the BJP has dropped a bombshell on the Kharge family and the trust it owns in Karnataka.
It all started with a news report claiming that Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav’s family increased its land holding. Following this, the Congress demanded a judicial probe into the clear case of “conflict of interest”.
A day later, the BJP held a press conference in Delhi where it alleged that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank Kharge grabbed land in Karnataka by misusing their “power and influence”.
What are Congress’ allegations against Mohan Yadav?
The Congress’ allegations stem from a report in The Indian Express, which showed that Mohan Yadav’s family and their real estate companies added 168 acres, for ₹45 crore, since December 2023, when the BJP leader become the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
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The report also claimed that the land assets of Mohan Yadav and his family benefitted by the infrastructure push, including road links and highways, which increased their value. Moreover, in several of the plots owned by the family, the land use was changed from agricultural to residential or commercial, making them lucrative for investment.
The Congress sought a judicial inquiry into the land purchases in Ujjain. Addressing a press conference, Congress Committee leader Jitu Patwari and Leader of Opposition in the state Umang Singhar said Mohan Yadav had turned Ujjain into a hub for shady land dealings.
Congress general secretary, Organisation, KC Venugopal asked why central probe agencies, like the ED or the CBI were not investigating those behind the alleged “land scam”.
Another party leader, Pawan Khera, alleged that the Yadav family members bought 111 of 168 acres in the area where the Ujjain Kumbh will be held in 2028.
The Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal has termed the allegations as “baseless” and hit out at Congress for targeting an OBC CM of the state. The BJP maintained that the CM owns 17 acres of land, as filed in his nomination affidavit, and said the holdings remained unchanged even as of 2026.
BJP’s allegations on Mallikarjun Kharge, son
BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari, in a press conference on Wednesday, alleged that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank Kharge have grabbed land through a trust, named Siddharth Vihar Trust.
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The BJP leader said Kharge, his son Priyank and other family members were part of the trust. Bhandari alleged that Kharge and his family used the trust to grab land in different parts of Karnataka and engaged in “land loot”. He said that the duo used their power and influenced in the Congress-ruled state to capture the land.
Bhandari claimed that the Siddhartha Vihara Trust got 5-acre land from the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in 2024, during the continued tenure of the Congress party leading the state. He further said that the land was given for research in aerospace and defence, adding that the value of the land is ₹100 crore.
“The first case of land grabbing I want to present to you is the Siddhartha Vihar Trust, which was granted by the KIADB in 2024, when the Congress government was in power in Karnataka. The stated purpose was Research and Development in Aerospace and Defence. The market rate for this five-acre plot is now ₹100 crore. This should have been given to an industrial or aerospace trust,” Bhandari alleged.
He added that no research and development activities were undertaken on the land.
