India Today organized a roundtable for Karnataka elections this Saturday, as the state gears up for legislative assembly elections on May 10. The event, called ‘India Today's Karnataka Roundtable: Setting the Agenda for Battle 2023’ saw a plethora of dignitaries assembling at the same place to discuss the upcoming elections.
The event was held at Ritz Carlton hotel in Karnataka’s capital, Bangalore.
The discussions revolved around multiple topics such as reservation, corruption, the Amul-Nandini saga, unemployment and more. From Home Minister Amit Shah to Karnataka’s present Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, everyone spoke about the issues in the state and what their game-plan was.
Other than the dignitaries already mentioned, present were Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Leader of Opposition, Siddaramaiah, Congress president D K Shivakumar, Lingayat seer Basavarajendra Mrityunjaya Swami, Pralhad Joshi, the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Tejasvi Surya, MP Lok Sabha, BJP, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Congress MLA, Capt Gopinath, Founder, Air Deccan, actress and former member of Parliament, Ramya and Rapido’s co-founder Pavan Guntupalli among others.
The event started with Kalli Purie giving the welcome address and introducing India Today Group's two new South-focused brands - Karnataka Tak and So South, the group's first video-based news service from the region. She also welcomed Home Minister Amit Shah to the stage for a chat with Sudhir Chaudhary where he spoke about his belief in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the need for a double-engine government. He said, “Purna Bahumat se jitenge”, while talking about BJP’s prospects in the upcoming elections.
Ex-CM of Karnataka and senior congress leader Siddaramaiah made a statement by saying, “If I become CM, will ask Karnataka people not to buy Amul milk,” as he spoke at the India Today Roundtable. He said, “It is not good to create artificial demand. Nandini is as good as Amul quality-wise, so Amul shouldn't meddle in Nandini's business."
The event saw a lot of heated debates between different parties and individual contributions alike under topics such as ‘Karnataka Today, India Tomorrow,’ ‘The Battle for Karnataka,’ ‘Bengaluru Dreams or Dust,’ ‘Anyone for a slice of reservation,’ ‘BJP’s war for the south,’ ‘Karnataka’s war on corruption,’ ‘Namma Modi BJP’s gamechanger,’ ‘Youth Nataka: Hungry and Restless’ and more.
At the end of the event, current CM Basavaraj Bommai spoke about the vision he has for Karnataka if BJP comes to power. “We are going to come out with a development plan for Karnataka. We are going to have model villages, new townships, new cities, and we are going to have theme cities. As far as education is concerned, we will have strong government-run schools and colleges. Digitisation and health will be our top priority.”
When asked about who will be CM of Karnataka if BJP wins, Bommai said, “My job is to bring the party back to power. It is my mandate by the party. When they made me CM, I never asked for it. Who will be the chief minister will be decided by the high command.”