The BJP in Karnataka is facing a strange predicament. After the party gave the Chamarajpet ticket in Bengaluru to retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao, a history sheeter named ‘Silent’ Sunil – who is also a party member – has been protesting and demanding the ticket for himself. Sunil and his supporters staged a protest demanding a ticket for him. Bhaskar Rao, who is also the former Bengaluru Police Commissioner, however, said he would be open to the idea of seeking ‘Silent’ Sunil’s support.
Bhaskar Rao’s name was announced as the party’s candidate from Chamarajpet on April 11. Starting his campaign the next day, he was seen visiting Sunil Venkatesh, another aspirant for the Chamarajpet seat from the BJP. “I'm a resident of Chamarajpet. I'm neither new nor an outsider. Even my father and my grandfather have grown up here. I visit Sunil Venkatesh's house frequently and need his trust and support,” Rao told reporters.
When asked specifically about 'Silent' Sunil, who is also a resident of the area and was hoping to get a ticket to contest from Chamarajapet, he said the police force and politics are different. “I've quit the police job. I can't bring police baggage into my new role. This is constitutional. Everyone competing must be respected, whether or not they have cases against them. We're all equal in this race,” Rao said.
On November 27, 2022, several BJP leaders were seen sharing a stage with ‘Silent’ Sunil at a blood donation camp organised in Bengaluru. Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan, Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya, Chickpet MLA Uday Garudachar, and Bengaluru South BJP president NR Ramesh, among others, were also seen on the stage with the history sheeter.
Just a few days before this incident, Sunil had been declared absconding by the Central Crime Branch police in Bengaluru. The police reportedly searched his residence but he was not found. He resurfaced at the blood donation camp, in the presence of police personnel.
‘Silent’ Sunil, who originally hails from Kerala, has been booked in several cases including for murder and abduction in many police stations across Bengaluru. He was first listed as a history sheeter in the Subramanyapura Police Station and then in the High Grounds Police Station in central Bengaluru. He was booked in a murder case in 2017 in Yelahanka and also faces charges including theft, extortion, kidnapping, and under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act, 2000 (KCOCA).