Karnataka's budget session likely in mid-February

The state is scheduled to go to polls in May 2013

With Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) president and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa threatening to pull down the four and a half-year old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka ahead of assembly polls in May 2013, chief minister Jagadish Shettar is planning to present the state budget for 2013-14 in mid-February.

Giving a hint for this, Shettar, who also holds finance portfolio, said here that he had begun preparations for presenting the budget in February. It will be a vote on account and not a full-fledged budget for the year as the state is going to polls in May next year. The present BJP government will complete its five-year term in office on May 30, 2013.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a public function here, Shettar said, “I have already started holding a series of meetings with state government officials to prepare the budget. This time, the budget will focus on overall development of the state. There is a need to take the government programmes to the doorsteps of the people of the state.”

Yeddyurappa, who launched his new party, KJP, at a public function on December 9, 2012 at Haveri had succeeded in attracting 14 legislators from BJP. He had even challenged the state BJP to take action on his loyalists.

Meanwhile, there are some doubts over the conduct of budget session at Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore as the public works department has taken up the renovation of assembly hall at a cost of Rs 17 crore. The department has begun electric works and the civil works would be taken up shortly.

The officials of the department have expressed doubts over the completion of the works before the start of the budget session in mid-February. In such case, the government is thinking of holding the session at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belgaum. The winter session of the state assembly was recently concluded at Belgaum, the first ever session after the newly constructed secretariat building was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee earlier this year.