Milk has been catapulted into a surprise poll issue in Karnataka with a large-scale entry by Amul milk and curd into the state’s dairy market, so far dominated by the Nandini brand.

While Karnataka’s political leaders have always tended to drop in at Nandini outlets to beat the summer heat with a few sips of buttermilk or chilled milk, these routine stops have suddenly become major political statements.

The Congress is portraying Nandini, which belongs to the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Ltd (KMF), as a symbol of Kannadiga pride and attacking the BJP government for the entry of the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation’s Amul.

The development comes days after the central food authority ordered all curd packs in Karnataka to be labelled as “dahi” in Hindi, before backtracking in the face of a furious pro-Kannada backlash against “Hindi imposition”.

On Monday, Congress president D.K. Shivakumar took time off his campaign schedule for the May 10 Assembly elections and visited a Nandini outlet in Hassan with photographers in tow.

“Visited Hassan’s Nandini store today and bought milk products. The BJP government is trying to hijack the Nandini brand, which is a symbol of the self-esteem of our farmers and Kannadigas,” he tweeted, also posting pictures of himself drinking chilled milk with his party colleagues looking on.

“But let the BJP government remember this, Kannadigas will never sell their self-respect,” Shivakumar added.

The images have received sizeable traction on social media.

While many Amul products have long been available in Karnataka, this is the first time the company is selling its daily pouches of milk and curd — products that make up the bulk of the state’s dairy market — here.

The Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association has joined the debate by declaring a boycott of Amul milk and curd.

“Even individuals should support this campaign, not just hotels and restaurants, since supporting Nandini is our combined responsibility,” association president P.C. Rao told The Telegraph.

He said restaurants in Bangalore use 4 lakh litres of milk and up to 50,000 litres of curd every day.

“Most of us already use only Nandini milk, but now we want Nandini’s use to be 100 per cent. Our sole objective is to support our farmers, without any political agenda,” Rao said.

“Amul is India’s number one dairy brand with the highest range of products. They don’t gain much by entering the Karnataka market but Nandini stands to lose a lot. So, we want to know the motive behind pushing a product from Gujarat into Karnataka.”

The issue had already become sensitive following Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah’s visit to a KMF dairy in Bangalore last August, which gave rise to suspicion about plans to merge the Nandini brand with Amul. The suspicions deepened further with the state witnessing a shortage of Nandini products, including milk, curd and ghee, for a fortnight.

Then, on April 5, Amul tweeted about the launch of its milk and curd in several parts of Bangalore, fuelling the fire.

The controversy has garnered attention far beyond Karnataka. Historian Irfan Habib, based in Uttar Pradesh, questioned the rationale of Amul’s entry into Karnataka in a tweet on Monday.

“Why should state level cooperative milk bodies be forced into competition? Nandini in Karnataka is serving the people well, why should Amul enter?” he wrote.

The leader of the Karnataka Opposition, Congress veteran P.C. Siddaramaiah, tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a series of tweets alleging a move to destabilise Nandini.

“Prime Minister @narendramodi avare, Is your purpose of coming to Karnataka is (sic) to give to Karnataka or to loot from Karnataka? You have already stolen banks, ports & airports from Kannadigas. Are you now trying to steal Nandini (KMF) from us?” he tweeted. “Avare” is an honorific in Kannada.

The tweet coincided with Modi’s trip to wildlife reserves in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Sunday.

Siddaramaiah alleged that the “state’s milk production is affected since the day union cooperative minister @AmitShah spoke about the possibility of KMF & Amul merger. What is your role in this, Mr @narendramodi?”

State cooperation minister S.T. Somashsekar dismissed all the allegations and linked the scarcity of Nandini products to the weather.

“Everybody knows that milk products get affected in summer. The KMF is more than capable of facing the competition from whoever,” he told reporters on Sunday.