KSHIP Tender to BVEPL Under Scanner as BJP Raises CBI, ED and Bengal Poll Links

Bengaluru, Sept 16: The award of a ₹1,000-crore road contract under the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) to Bharat Vanijya Eastern Private Limited (BVEPL) has come under renewed scrutiny after the BJP questioned why the company was allowed to secure the contract despite the State Government having been informed of a CBI case against it before the agreement was signed.

According to a written reply furnished by Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi in the Karnataka Legislative Council, the CBI registered a case against BVEPL on July 11, 2025, and the State Government received information about it on July 24. The department subsequently entered into an agreement with the company on October 17, 2025.

The government has maintained that the CBI investigation had not been concluded and that BVEPL had neither been blacklisted nor debarred from participating in government tenders. The tender itself had been floated on March 1, 2025, before the registration of the CBI case.

The contract relates to the Hoskote-Malur-Kolar-Malur road corridor under KSHIP. The BJP has questioned whether the department should have independently verified the CBI case before proceeding with the contract after receiving information about the investigation.

BJP MLC N. Ravi Kumar has sought a CBI probe into the tender process and questioned the department's decision to proceed with the award. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy has also demanded Jarkiholi's resignation.

The controversy has gained further political attention following Enforcement Directorate searches conducted on September 9 and 10 at premises linked to Jarkiholi, his family members and associates. The ED reportedly seized cash, foreign currency and documents as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in PWD contracts and suspected undisclosed overseas investments.

BVEPL is also reportedly under the ED's scanner in connection with allegations of bribery linked to the securing of PWD contracts. Investigators are examining alleged financial transactions and whether proceeds were subsequently used for overseas investments, including interests in African mining companies.

Another allegation raised by the BJP concerns the possible routing of money through hawala channels for expenditure linked to the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election. However, there is currently no established finding that funds from BVEPL or Karnataka PWD contracts were actually used for election-related expenditure in West Bengal.

The BJP is seeking answers on the tender award as well as the alleged financial transactions involving PWD contracts, overseas investments and election expenditure. The government, meanwhile, has defended the tender process, pointing to the absence of any formal blacklisting or debarment order against BVEPL at the time of the contract.

Jarkiholi has denied wrongdoing in connection with the ED searches, while Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has described the searches as politically motivated.

The issue is expected to figure prominently during the special session of the Karnataka Legislature beginning September 21, with the BJP likely to focus on the chronology of the CBI case, the government's subsequent knowledge of it and the eventual award of the KSHIP contract.