Ballari violence escalated following a clash between BJP and Congress workers on January 1, resulting in the death of a Congress worker. The BJP alleges the government is attempting to conceal the incident and falsely implicate them, while the Congress blames the BJP. The state government transferred the Ballari IGP for dereliction of duty. The BJP plans a rally on January 17, demanding a CBI probe and accusing Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's associate of involvement.