Shivakumar says Karnataka will welcome Modi and press drought relief; PM told him to come to Delhi for a private meeting

Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Thursday that the state will welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectfully when he arrives in Bengaluru on Friday, and will use the occasion to put the state’s issues before him, including drought relief and funds. He declined to say what exactly he will ask for.

Speaking to reporters at Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said: “We will welcome him respectfully and respectfully place the issues concerning our state before him.” Asked whether he would seek financial assistance and drought relief, he replied “Definitely”, adding, “We will certainly raise the issues.” On the details he was firm: “I cannot reveal at this stage what I will discuss with him.”

A meeting in Delhi, not Bengaluru

The Chief Minister said he has sought a private meeting with the Prime Minister on some issues, and that Modi asked him to come to New Delhi for it. No date for that meeting has been announced.

Shivakumar also pitched cooperation as a two-way matter. The state’s problems, he said, are tied to the country’s larger interests, and the Centre and the state should work together. He said he expects the Centre’s cooperation in return for the state’s own.

What the Prime Minister is opening

The visit is built around the Namma Metro Pink Line, which Shivakumar called “Karnataka’s pride”. The section to be opened is a 7.5-km elevated stretch between Kalena Agrahara and Tavarekere, built at a cost of about ₹3,470 crore. Modi is to ride the metro from Tavarekere to IIM Bangalore station at about 12:45 pm, according to the Prime Minister’s Office release of November 11, and then address a gathering where projects worth over ₹15,600 crore will be launched. Earlier, at about 10:45 am, he will attend the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Prashanti Kutiram. In Mysuru, he will inaugurate the COSMOS-Mysuru Planetarium at about 4 pm. Our earlier report on the visit has the full schedule.

The Chief Minister said the state has made significant progress on infrastructure but “a lot more needs to be done”, and that much remains pending. He did not name projects on Thursday.

The demands already on the table

Some of the asks are already on paper. After Modi sent a five-page Kannada Rajyotsava letter dated October 31, Shivakumar replied on November 5 thanking him, welcoming the visit and seeking central help on three fronts, according to a report on the letter.

For Bengaluru, he asked for a special financial package, higher financing and housing targets from the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, and defence land at appropriate prices to ease traffic. On irrigation, he sought early clearances for the Mekedatu, Kalasa-Banduri, Upper Bhadra, Upper Krishna and Yettinahole projects. He also cited the Jal Jeevan Mission: 90.61 lakh of 101.10 lakh rural households, or 89.52%, had working tap connections as of September 2026, and the state plans 160 new multi-village schemes and wants pending funds released.

On sugarcane, he asked the Centre to revise the sugar minimum selling price, which he said has stood at ₹31 a kg since February 2019, and to restore the base recovery rate for the fair and remunerative price to 9.50%. He wrote separately on October 19 about the sugarcane farmers’ agitation in North Karnataka, where farmers had held padayatras towards Hubballi and blocked roads, and urged “urgent intervention”. Farmers later suspended their padayatra, and Shivakumar has proposed an all-party delegation to Delhi (see our report on the Belagavi talks).

The quota question

The Chief Minister is also taking the reservation fight to the Prime Minister. He said on Thursday that the state will write to Modi asking that the enhanced SC and ST quota be placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, and that the government is preparing its challenge in the Supreme Court and is “confident of getting justice”. The Cabinet has already decided to appeal the High Court ruling that cut the quotas back. Our report on the petition sets out what the High Court held.

Why it matters

Drought relief decides how much central money reaches affected farmers and districts, and an assurance on the Delhi meeting would tell the state whether the Centre will take up its wider list. The metro opening and Friday’s projects will draw the two governments to the same stage in a state where the Congress governs and the BJP leads the Opposition, so the tone of the exchanges will be watched. No response from the Centre or the BJP to Shivakumar’s remarks was available on Thursday night.

Bengaluru is under heavy security for the visit. About 1,000 civil police personnel and over 100 sub-inspectors have been deployed, along with other officers, and the Special Protection Group inspected the routes, metro facilities and venues about ten days earlier.

What happens next

Modi reaches Bengaluru on Friday morning, November 13, and goes on to Mysuru in the afternoon. Shivakumar is expected to receive him and raise the state’s issues on the sidelines; the private meeting he has sought will be in Delhi, on a date yet to be fixed. Modi travels to the Ambaji Temple in Gujarat on Saturday, November 14.