The Karnataka government on Tuesday, 22 September expanded its official drought-hit list to 177 taluks, after adding 53 more in the latest round — including Gadag taluk, whose sitting Congress MLA had threatened to resign if it was left out. Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G. Parameshwara disclosed the updated count in the Legislative Council, triggering sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

How the List Grew to 177

The drought declaration has been rolled out in phased stages. In the first stage, 101 taluks were declared drought-hit across the state. A subsequent round added 23 more, and the latest expansion brought in 53 additional taluks, taking the cumulative total to 177. Parameshwara indicated that taluks still excluded would be reconsidered based on prevailing ground conditions, adding: 'According to my knowledge, nearly 200 taluks will be announced as drought-prone in the coming days.'

The Gadag Controversy

The inclusion of Gadag was directly questioned on the floor of the Legislative Council by BJP MLC C.T. Ravi, who asked Parameshwara whether the taluk — represented by senior Congress MLA and former minister H.K. Patil — had made it onto the new list. Parameshwara confirmed it had, but was careful to add that the government 'could not make a drought declaration merely on the basis of a warning by an MLA that he would resign.'

Patil, who was notably left out of the Cabinet, had written to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar warning that officials in the Statistics Department were 'distorting facts for their convenience' and taking decisions 'in violation of the guidelines and the decisions taken at the meeting chaired' by the Chief Minister. He had also flagged that 27 of the 73 taluks in the Kittur Karnataka region had not been declared drought-hit, calling this an 'anti-farmer approach' damaging the government's image.

BJP's Political Broadside

The BJP was quick to frame the development as evidence of political pressure overriding administrative process. C.T. Ravi alleged that legislators appeared to have to threaten resignation to secure drought status for their constituencies, and accused the government of 'engaging in politics even over the declaration of drought-hit areas.' Senior BJP MLC Basavaraj Horatti added a sharper jab, saying Parameshwara had 'somehow managed to prevent H.K. Patil from tendering his resignation' — framing the inclusion as a political pacification move rather than a data-driven decision.

Opposition and Congress Discord

Beyond the BJP's critique, the episode has exposed internal Congress fault lines. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy called on the government to show genuine concern for people in drought-affected areas, and said the Opposition would continue its role of 'providing checks and balances.' Meanwhile, discontent among Congress legislators over the exclusion of their own constituencies suggests the pressure on the government is not purely from across the aisle — it is also coming from within the ruling party's own ranks.

What Comes Next

With the government signalling that the total drought-affected taluk count could approach 200, further additions to the list are anticipated in the days ahead. The episode raises broader questions about whether Karnataka's drought declaration process is being driven by transparent meteorological and crop-loss data, or by political bargaining — a question that is likely to dog the Shivakumar administration as it frames its relief and compensation claims before the Centre.