Shivajinagar or St. Mary’s: What’s in a metro station’s name?

The story so far: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on September 11, 2025, lashed out at his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah for proposing to rename the Shivajinagar Metro Station in Bengaluru as St. Mary’s Metro Station. He likened the move to “insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj” and accused Mr. Siddaramaiah of “setting up an alternative religious system”.

Why has the proposal for a name change come up now? What did Mr. Siddaramaiah say? How has the Opposition in Karnataka reacted to this?

Where is Shivajinagar station?

At the centre of the controversy is the Shivajinagar Metro station, an underground station which is part of the Pink Line of the Namma Metro network in Bengaluru. The highly-anticipated corridor is under construction and is expected to open in two stages by September 2026.

The 13.76-km stretch, which will be Bengaluru’s longest underground metro line, will connect Dairy Circle to Nagawara, and will pass through the densely-populated central hubs and neigbourhoods, which includes Shivajinagar.

Why did the row erupt?

On September 8, 2025, while participating in the inauguration of the annual feast celebrations at St. Mary’s Basilica, Mr. Siddaramaiah promised that the station would be named after St. Mary. His statement came in response to a proposal made by Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad as well as the Archbishop of Bengaluru Peter Machado. “There is a proposal to name a metro station after St. Mary. Rizwan and I have spoken about it because Rizwan is the MLA of this (Shivajinagar) constituency. I will make a recommendation to the Central government,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Shivajinagar, named after Chhatrapati Shivaji’s visit to the city during the 17th century, is home to a significant population of Hindus, Muslims as well as Christians and the area is dotted with temples, mosques and churches. St. Mary’s Basilica is not only among the oldest churches in Bengaluru but is also an iconic landmark of the city.

Appeasement politics vs historical figure?

Condemning the decision to rename the station, Mr. Fadnavis said, “What the Karnataka Congress government is trying to do is to insult Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I am pained by it, but am not surprised. The tradition of insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been existent in Congress since pre-Independence times. May it be Jawaharlal Nehru, his comments on Shivaji Maharaj in his book Discovery of India, he had made such kinds of statements against Maharaj.”

“I pray to God to give good sense to the Congress Chief Minister. The country saw ‘Swarajya’ because of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. For him to replace the name of the station with another name is an attempt to set up an alternative religious system and to draw a wedge between communities...” he added.

Meanwhile, Anand Dubey, spokesperson of the Shiv Sena (UBT), appealed to the Congress to name the station after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “Maharashtra and Karnataka have always enjoyed good relations. Please respect our sentiments, and we will respect yours. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is deified not just in Maharashtra, but in the entire country. He formulated Hindavi Swarajya. The entire world knows about it. Please name the Metro station after him. It will send out a good message across the country. If you fail to do it, history will not forgive you,” said Mr. Dubey.

Accusing the Congress government of “appeasement politics,” the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said the naming should not be based on religion and that his party would oppose it.

“Will they remove the name Shivajinagar? They should not go beyond the limits to please someone. Appeasement has become the first choice of the Congress party. Because of appeasement, the party has gone to the dogs now; still, they are doing appeasement politics. It will not work. We will not allow it,” the BJP leader told reporters.

What is the government’s stand?

Mr. Siddaramaiah on Friday (September 12, 2025) asked Mr. Fadnavis to take up with the Central government any objections regarding the proposal to rename Shivajinagar station. “Let him (Mr. Fadnavis) speak to the Government of India. We will send (recommendation on naming) to them (Centre); let him speak to them,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah also clarified to the media that the decision was not concrete and the ball was in the Centre’s court. “We have sent a proposal to the Government of India, which is yet to approve it. We have only sent a proposal,” he said.

Reacting to Mr. Fadnavis’ remarks, State Home Minister G. Parameshwara asked, “Why is Fadnavis interested in Karnataka and Bengaluru’s matter all of a sudden? I don’t know.” He added, “Decision regarding naming metro stations will be taken by the in-charge of Bengaluru development and Deputy Chief Minister (D.K. Shivakumar), as it is a matter related to Bengaluru.”

However, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, the agency responsible for implementing, building, operating, and expanding the city’s metro network, has not issued an official statement regarding this proposal.

What are netizens saying?

It is not uncommon for stations in the Namma Metro network to be named after renowned personalities, suffixed by the name of the area. For example, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Station (Vidhana Soudha), Balagangadaranatha Swamiji Station (Hosahalli), Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station (Majestic), Sir. M. Visvesvaraya Station (Central College), among others.

However, on social media, the objections to this specific episode are around “renaming on religious grounds”.

Some have suggested naming the station after the late Kannada actor Shankar Nag, who is credited with envisioning Bengaluru’s rapid transit system in the 1980s.

(With inputs from PTI)