Congress MLA Yashvanta Rayagouda V Patil resigned from the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday after Indi and Chadchan taluks in his Vijayapura constituency were left out of the state’s drought-affected list.
Patil submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Gurupadagouda Sanganagouda Patil in Bengaluru. He had repeatedly requested that the two taluks be included in the drought list, pointing out that 11 of Vijayapura district’s 13 taluks had already been declared drought affected.
In a letter to Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on August 28, Patil said his repeated requests had not received adequate attention. He also said he felt unable to fulfil his responsibilities towards the voters who had elected him and therefore decided to step down.
The resignation became an issue during a discussion on the drought situation in the Assembly. Opposition legislators displayed a copy of Patil’s resignation letter.
Shivakumar said he had spoken to Patil and attributed the decision to pressure from farmers and residents in his constituency. He said farmers in several parts of Karnataka had borrowed money to cultivate their land and were now facing difficulties because of the drought.
The chief minister also said that Patil’s resignation was different from suggestions of a coordinated political resignation strategy. He urged legislators to remain in the Assembly and raise the concerns of their constituencies.
Shivakumar defended the government’s process for declaring areas drought affected, saying the decision could not be based solely on demands from individual legislators. He said the assessment follows prescribed criteria, including rainfall deficiency and the number of consecutive days without adequate rainfall.
“No MLA, including the Speaker, has the authority to declare his constituency a drought area simply because it is his constituency,” Shivakumar said, explaining that official guidelines are used to determine drought status.
The state government has been expanding its drought-affected list as assessments continue. Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara said the number of affected taluks was expected to reach 177 and could eventually rise to around 200.
Karnataka initially declared 101 taluks drought affected. Another 23 were subsequently added, while 53 more were scheduled to be included, taking the total to 177.
Parameshwara said the drought situation was affecting farmers across the state. According to figures presented by him, Karnataka received 642 mm of rainfall between June and September against a normal 852 mm, representing an overall deficit of 36%.
The deficit was reported at 46% in south interior Karnataka, 44% in north interior Karnataka, 38% in Malnad and 28% in the coastal region.
The government said it was continuing its assessment according to the prescribed drought criteria and would take steps to provide relief to affected farmers. Patil’s resignation now adds a political dimension to the ongoing debate over the state’s drought response and the inclusion of individual taluks in the relief list.
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