“You are aware what has happened here (in terms of land price) after renaming the district,” he said, addressing people in a series of public meetings he held along a day-long roadshow to express his gratitude to voters for helping him become the CM.
The CM urged the people of Bengaluru South district not to migrate to Bengaluru city for work. Instead, engage in their own villages in sericulture and dairying activities making use of the water available locally and lead a life of self-respect.
“The criticism of the BJP and JDS, who opposed the change of name, has died down. All of you are children of Bengaluru district,” Shivakumar said.
In October 2023, months after coming to power, Shivakumar had urged voters in Kanakapura not to sell their farmlands to Bengalureans, saying the taluk would one day merge with Bengaluru and prices of their land would shoot up.
“A day will soon come when villages here will become part of Bengaluru. At that time, the buyers will value your land by feet (not acres),” he had said.
Shivakumar, who has won from Kanakapura taluk eight times, had told his voters that he could neither support them with money nor build houses for them. “But God has given me the strength to increase the value of your property ten times… Remember you don’t belong to Ramanagar district, but Bengaluru district.”Shivakumar’s initiative to change the name of Ramanagar district to restore the prefix of Bengaluru and restore a part of its earlier identity had been met with stiff resistance by Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy. The JDS leader had accused Shivakumar of promoting his real estate interests with the decision.
Ramanagar was carved out of Bangalore Rural district in August 2007 when Kumaraswamy was the CM. The JDS leader had also represented Ramanagara in the assembly.
Kumaraswamy represents the neighbouring Mandya while his brother-in-law Dr CN Manjunath (BJP) represents Bengaluru Rural in the Lok Sabha, where Shivakumar and the Congress are seeking to reestablish its dominance.
Shivakumar represents Kanakapura in the assembly, and the political rivalry between him and Kumaraswamy exacerbated after Manjunath defeated his younger brother DK Suresh (Congress) in the LS polls two years ago.
