CM Siddaramaiah to present his record 17th Budget on Mar 6
Bengaluru (PTI): The Budget Session of the Karnataka Legislature will begin here on Friday, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presenting the Budget for 2026-27, his record 17th as the state's finance minister.
This is another feat for Siddaramaiah, who recently surpassed D Devaraj Urs's record to become the longest-serving Chief Minister of Karnataka.
However, this has come amid speculation over a possible change of Chief Minister after the Budget session, citing a "power-sharing" arrangement between him and his deputy D K Shivakumar, at the time of the government formation in 2023.
According to official sources, Siddaramaiah as the finance minister, faces a "tightrope walk" as he must negotiate between containing the revenue deficit and funding his government's populist guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti', 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya').
Faced with a revenue shortfall amid rising expenditure commitments, he has a task cut out to maneuver the state's finances while maintaining fiscal discipline.
As the CM is expected to look for resource mobilisation measures, speculations are rife that there may be an increase in taxes.
There are calls to trim the outlay on the 'guarantee' schemes, with annual spending for the five schemes exceeding Rs 50,000 crore. In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 51,034 crore for the guarantee schemes.
Also to be factored in is an increase in the government's expenses like salaries, as it has decided to recruit for 56,432 vacant jobs.
The government expects a revenue shortfall of Rs 18,000 crore in the current fiscal (2025-26) due to factors like GST rate rationalisation among others, official sources said.
The total expenditure for 2025-26 was estimated to be Rs 4.09 lakh crore. However this may be lowered to about Rs 3.9 lakh crore, they said.
As per the 2025-26 Budget Estimates, the state's total liabilities by the end of March 2026 are projected at Rs 7,64,655 crore, which constitutes 24.91 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the government has said.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah ahead of the state Budget presentation, claiming that the government is expected to borrow Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is likely to impose fresh taxes on the people.
He said the Budget would have nothing new, adding that its highlights would be criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes.
The opposition is also expected to corner the government during the session on a host of issues, including the implementation of internal reservation among SCs during the recruitment process it decided to undertake -- the issue on which there is a rift between SC (Right) and SC (Left) factions within the ruling Congress.
Alleged diversion of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) funds to fund guarantee schemes, irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) Mains examination and selection process, developmental issues, irrigation projects, and law and order are among the other issues on which the opposition is likely to target the government.
Several Bills, including an amendment to the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, aimed at allowing vehicles used for illegal transport of cattle to be released on an indemnity bond, and the Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Place of Gathering) Bill, 2025, which was referred to a select committee, are likely to be tabled during the session.
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Criticism of PM Modi, repeated mentions of guarantees to be highlights of K’taka Budget: LoP Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah ahead of the state Budget presentation, claiming that the government is expected to borrow Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is likely to impose fresh taxes on the people.
He said the Budget would have nothing new, adding that its highlights would be criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti, 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya').
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the 2026–27 Budget on March 6. This will be his record 17th budget.
“Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s budget will be presented tomorrow. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reduced the tax burden in the Union Budget, Siddaramaiah is known for imposing taxes on people. He imposes about four taxes a month and has already introduced 36 taxes, and is now looking for ways to impose more,” Ashoka said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Congress had promised people before coming to power that the guarantee schemes would be implemented without imposing any burden on them.
“By the end of the chief minister’s term, the state’s total debt will probably exceed Rs 6 lakh crore. The government has already breached financial discipline. Siddaramaiah and his government are somehow managing the situation,” Ashoka claimed, adding that his borrowings as CM equal those of 12 or 13 former chief ministers combined.
Stating that the Budget should create higher revenue sources, ensure that no burden is placed on people, and take the state away from debt, the opposition leader said this could be ensured only by a “clever and intelligent finance minister.”
“Anyone can run a government by pushing the state into debt,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of “increasing the state’s debt and failing to meet the expectations of the people.”
Highlighting that Siddaramaiah blames the previous BJP government for everything, Ashoka said Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister during the previous BJP government, had presented a “surplus budget,” without excessive borrowings.
“Despite having the opportunity to borrow more while staying within the parameters of financial discipline, he (Bommai) did not do so, as it would burden the people,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of borrowing crores of rupees every year.
“I feel that this time too, he will take a loan of Rs 1.15 lakh crore,” he claimed.
The BJP leader said he had written to the CM requesting an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore annually for the development of backward taluks, as recommended by the High Power Committee on Redressal of Regional Imbalance (HPCRRI), chaired by economist Prof M Govinda Rao.
Claiming that the government appears “inactive” due to internal rifts, Ashoka pointed to an ongoing power struggle between factions led by Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the CM’s post.
“Amid all this, we cannot expect anything new from this Budget. The CM will repeatedly speak about the guarantee schemes and target the central government and PM Modi. Criticising Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes will be the highlight of this Budget. Other than that, there will be nothing new,” he added.
He also dismissed the CM's claim that the government had achieved 90 per cent of the promises made in the previous Budget. “The fact is that not even 9 per cent has been achieved. I have evidence for it,” he said.
Ashoka further alleged that the government had also failed in tax collection, achieving only 48 per cent of the target, and had released less than 40 per cent of the allocated funds to some departments.
