Bengaluru: The last session of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Karnataka that commenced this morning witnessed poor attendance as a significant number of legislators gave it a miss as they are busy campaigning for the Assembly polls, due by April-May.
The 11-day-long session that began with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot addressing the joint sitting of the Legislature, will see Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presenting his Government’s last budget on Feb. 17.
Leaders who were absent today included Opposition leader Siddharamaiah and JD(S) Legislative Party Leader H.D. Kumaraswamy. Siddharamaiah is on the Congress’ ‘Praja Dwani Yatra’. He is likely to take part in the session only on the day of Budget.
KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar is also likely to stay away on most of the days, as he will be busy with rallies and preparing for polls.
Kumaraswamy is leading the party’s ‘Pancharatna Yatra’ is also likely to skip the entire session. The former CM did not attend the winter session in Belagavi in December.
Several BJP legislators and Ministers too are likely to be absent on most days. Bommai himself is likely to have a tight schedule as will have to manage between the session and the party’s poll campaign. He will also have to take part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s proposed visits to the State.
This post was published on February 10, 2023 8:00 pm