BENGALURU, Dec. 31 -- Days after a public exchange over the demolition of illegally constructed houses in Bengaluru, chief minister Siddaramaiah and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan appeared together on Wednesday in a setting marked by civility rather than confrontation. The two leaders met at Sivagiri Mutt near Thiruvananthapuram, shared the stage at a public programme, and exchanged pleasantries, offering a visible contrast to the recent political sparring between the two states.

The dispute was a result of the demolition drive in Kogilu Layout in north Bengaluru, which escalated into an interstate political issue after Vijayan described the action as "bulldozer raj" and appeared to compare it with what he called an "anti-minorit...