MLA Raju Kage wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, demanding separate statehood for 15 districts of North Karnataka, claiming that the region has faced injustice, discrimination and neglect in every sector.
Published Nov 13, 2025 | 1:31 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 13, 2025 | 1:32 PM
Raju Kage with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Synopsis: Kagwad MLA Raju Kage wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, demanding separate statehood for 15 districts of North Karnataka, claiming that the region has faced injustice, discrimination and neglect in every sector. The MLA said he would raise the issue in detail during the Winter Session of the legislature to be held in Belagavi next month.
The decades-old demand for a separate state of North Karnataka has resurfaced once again. This time, from an MLA of the ruling Congress in the state — Raju Kage. The Kagwad MLA wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, demanding separate statehood for 15 districts of North Karnataka, claiming that the region has faced injustice, discrimination and neglect in every sector.
The proposed districts — Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur, Karwar, Haveri, Vijayanagara, Ballari, and Davanagere — should come under a separate state for “administrative convenience and holistic development,” Kage said in his letter dated 4 November.
“North Karnataka is rich in natural resources and is a land of prosperity. This region has made significant contributions towards the preservation of the Kannada language and the unification of Karnataka,” he said in the letter.
The MLA said he would raise the issue in detail during the Winter Session of the legislature to be held in Belagavi next month.
The letter by Raju Kage.
Kage, who is also the chairman of North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, alleged that the region has continuously faced “injustice, discrimination, and neglect in every sector” since the unification of Karnataka.
“I would like to express my strong demand for the creation of a new state comprising 15 districts of North Karnataka — Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Vijayanagara, Ballari, and Davangere — for administrative convenience and holistic development. The formation of a separate state will give birth to another proud Kannada-speaking State, which will be a matter of great pride for us,” he said in the letter.
Kage further said that he extended his support to the signature campaign by the representatives of the North Karnataka Struggle Committee. He said over one crore people had already given written consent and signed in favour of the demand.
He further mentioned that a memorandum with this demand had also been submitted to the Governor on 5 January 2024. Additionally, the North Karnataka Struggle Committee had also submitted a memorandum to the President on 3 January 2024, and to the prime minister on 10 January 2024, he wrote.
“All sections of people in this region are asking for a separate state for their overall development. I request you to please consider our appeal and make a suitable recommendation to the Central government for the creation of a separate state for the North Karnataka region,” he said in the letter.
This is not the first time that Kage has expressed this demand for a separate state of North Karnataka. In September 2025, while speaking to reporters in Hubbali, the MLA said there was nothing wrong in seeking separate statehood for the North Karnataka region.
“In backwardness, there is not much difference between Kalyana Karnataka and our region, except for a few places. If MLAs of the region also get ₹500 crore grants like those of Kalyana Karnataka, development will take place here also. Keeping the backwardness in view, I am in favour of statehood for the North Karnataka region,” he had said.
However, a sitting Congress MLA re-igniting the contentious demand is likely to be a hiccup for the Congress government.
Earlier, BJP leader Umesh Katti had advocated for a separate state for North Karnataka. In 2022, Katti claimed, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to form 50 states in the country after the 2024 elections. I came to know that he is mulling over it.”
He had said then that splitting the state would be favourable given the rise in population. “Such thought is good because the population is increasing, and that region (north Karnataka) should also see development. North Karnataka should become a state and develop,” he said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
