Karnataka Dy CM seeks UT status to Mumbai, after Maharashtra CM seeks similar status to border areas
Bengaluru, Jan 27: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi on Wednesday said Mumbai should be made part of the state and urged the Centre to declare it a Union Territory until then, as he hit back at Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for raking up the border issue with a similar demand.
"We condemn the Maharashtra CM's statement. The Mahajan report is final. We are confident that things will be in our favour in the Supreme Court too.
The demand of the people of our region is that we have been part of Mumbai-Karnataka (region), so we too have our right on Mumbai," Savadi told reporters.
From now on, he said the people would start demanding that Mumbai should be made part of Karnataka as they too had a share in it.
"Until it (Mumbai) is made part of Karnataka, I urge the central government to make it an union territory,"the DCM said in response to a question on repeated raking up of the border issue.
"With us now demanding Mumbai, things may get fine," he said.
Earlier in the day Thackeray had said that areas dominated by Marathi speaking people on the state's border with Karnataka should be declared as a Union Territory till the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on the issue.
Ramesh Jarkiholi,Minister in-charge of Belagavi district, which borders Maharashtra, said Thackeray had raked up the border issue to divert public attention from the 'failures' of his government.
"...Don't give much importance to what he says. Uddhav Thackeray has failed at all levels. So he is trying to rake up the emotive border issue and trying to divert public attention," he said.
Minister for Women and Child Development Shashikala Jolle, who also hails from the Belagavi district, said Thackeray has no right to speak about Belagavi.
"We are not sitting quiet here with our hands tied. We are people of Karnataka...the soil of Kannada has nurtured us...if the issue is raked up repeatedly, we will give a befitting reply," she said.
The Minister pointed out that Belagavi is the land where Kittur Rani Chennamma had led an armed rebellion against the British for freedom.
Thackeray had on January 17 too said his government is committed towards incorporating into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority.
Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending the majority of population in these areas is Marathi-speaking.
On its part, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka has built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modeled on the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat in Bengaluru, where the legislature session is held once a year.
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Vartha Bharati–Sankalp predictions align closely with Karnataka bypoll results
Bengaluru: The Vartha Bharati–Sankalp election analysis has shown a high level of accuracy in predicting the outcome of the recent Karnataka Assembly by-elections held in May 2026, correctly calling winners in both constituencies and closely estimating vote share trends.
The by-elections were held in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, drawing significant political attention as both seats were seen as key tests for the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
According to the analysis, Vartha Bharati–Sankalp had made three major projections ahead of the results the winning party, vote share percentages, and margin of victory.
In both constituencies, the platform accurately predicted that the Congress would emerge victorious. The outcome matched the projections, with Congress candidates winning in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
In terms of vote share, the predictions were largely in line with the final results. In Bagalkot, the BJP’s vote share was forecast in the range of 40 to 46 per cent, while the actual figure stood at 42.9 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, exceeded expectations, with the party securing 55.4 per cent against a projected range of 43 to 48 per cent.
The margin of victory in Bagalkot turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. While the projection had placed the margin between 2,000 and 3,500 votes, the final margin was around 22,332 votes.
In Davanagere South, the predictions also remained largely accurate. The Congress vote share was projected between 43 and 51 per cent, and the final figure stood at 43.9 per cent. The BJP was expected to secure between 42 and 50 per cent but ended with 40.3 per cent.
The analysis had also identified the role of SDPI as a potential spoiler in the constituency. While its vote share was estimated around 6 per cent, the party eventually secured around 12 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory in Davanagere South was predicted to be between 1,500 and 2,600 votes. The actual margin was higher at around 5,708 votes, though the contest remained relatively close as anticipated.
Overall, the performance of Vartha Bharati–Sankalp stood out for correctly identifying the winning parties in both seats and maintaining close accuracy in vote share estimates, with only limited deviations in specific cases.
