As the Karnataka government remains mute over the Railway Ministry’s decision to bring Mangaluru Railway Region under South Western Railway (SWR) and the Keralam government led by Congress’ V.D. Satheesan vehemently opposes the move, Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta has urged Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to throw his weight behind the decision favouring the State.

“This is not about taking a position against a neighbouring State. It is about placing Karnataka’s considered position on the railway administration and developmental requirements of Mangaluru formally before the Union Government. I believe the people of Karnataka can reasonably expect our State Government to stand behind this long-pending demand and support its implementation,” he said in an August 24 letter to Mr. Shivakumar.

Capt. Chowta said the August 21 notification of the Railway Ministry bringing Mangaluru under SWR’s Mysuru Division from Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division was the culmination of people’s aspirations from the region ever since SWR was formed in 2023. The changes are made keeping in view the operational requirements of the railway network.

Important for Karnataka

The MP said the revised arrangement is important for Karnataka as a whole. Mysuru Division already administers the Hassan-Mangaluru section, which provides the principal rail connection between the coast and the interior of the State. Bringing Mangaluru within the same divisional framework will allow the coastal terminal, the ghat section and the inland corridor towards Hassan and Mysuru to be planned and administered in a more integrated manner.

Maritime gateway

Mangaluru is also Karnataka’s principal maritime gateway. The New Mangalore Port serves the industrial and commercial hinterland of the State and depends substantially on rail connectivity for movement of cargo. The revised arrangement, therefore, gives Karnataka an opportunity to approach the Mangaluru-Hassan-Mysuru axis as an integrated passenger and freight corridor connecting the coast and the port with the interior of the State.

Capt. Chowta recalled his efforts in pursuing the integration issue with the Centre after getting elected to the Lok Sabha.

While Mr. Satheesan is learnt to have approached the Prime Minister against the bifurcation, Keralam MPs cutting across party lines too have opposed the decision.

Recalling Mr. Shivakumar’s first meeting with Karnataka MPs after assuming the office, that one must rise above party differences on matters concerning Karnataka, Capt. Chowta urged the former to apply the same principle to the Mangaluru Railway issue too.

While leaders and MPs from Keralam belonging to Congress have taken a clear public stand seeking reversal of the decision, it would be difficult for Karnataka people to understand why their government is keeping silent on a formally notified decision directly concerning Karnataka.

He urged Mr. Shivakumar to convey to the Union government Karnataka’s support for implementing the August 21 decision.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan will present the Revised Budget for the 2026-27 fiscal in the Kerala Legislative Assembly at 9 a.m. today (June 19).

The budget will also be the first of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government which came to power in Kerala in May after a landslide victory in the April 9 Assembly polls.

Follow Kerala Revised Budget 2026-27 LIVE updates here

Mr. Satheesan’s presentation will be keenly watched for what it has to say about course corrections in Kerala’s fiscal policy, additional revenue mobilisation, and, among other things, the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and pay revision.

In presenting the Revised Budget for the current fiscal, Mr. Satheesan, who also handles the Finance portfolio, will be the third Congress Chief Minister in Kerala — after R. Shankar and Oommen Chandy — to present a State Budget.

The previous CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had presented its 2026-27 State Budget on January 29 this year.

Mr. Satheesan faces the challenge of mobilising additional revenue for development and welfare, especially the UDF’s Indira Guarantees and the ‘Dream Projects,’ while addressing the severe fiscal constraints that — according to Mr. Satheesan — face his government.

The Revised Budget is being presented against the backdrop of a White Paper tabled by the Chief Minister in the Assembly on June 4. The document had painted a bleak picture of the State’s fiscal structure, describing it as being “under serious and growing strain.”

The previous LDF government had presented its 2026-27 State Budget on January 29 this year. The Budget, presented by then Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, had envisioned ₹1,82,972.10 crore as revenue receipts and ₹2,17,558.76 crore as revenue expenditure.

Mr. Balagopal had recently urged the UDF government not to cut spending for LDF-announced schemes in the upcoming budget.

The general discussion on the Revised Budget will be held in the Assembly from June 22 to June 24. The discussions and voting on the demands for grants will be held on June 29 and June 30. The Appropriation Bill will be taken up on July 1.

Congress’s MLA-elects from across Kerala made a beeline for the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) headquarters at the Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram for a closed-door meeting at 1 p.m. on Thursday (May 14, 2026), ahead of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) much-anticipated and somewhat long-drawn-out announcement of its pick for Kerala’s next United Democratic Front (UDF) Chief Minister. 

Meanwhile, Congress workers trickled into party offices in the State, as their eagerness to know the party high command’s choice for the top post appeared to reach a feverish pitch. The keenly expectant party workers gathering in sizeable numbers in front of the District Congress Committee (DCC) offices appeared relatively tame compared to the past ten days of raucous displays of factional loyalties and vying poster campaigns in the wake of the declaration of the election results on May 4. 

Television camera crews staked out in front of the residences of the purported top contenders for the post, including former Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan at Paravoor in Ernakulam, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala in Thiruvananthapuram, and AICC general secretary, K C Venugopal, MP, in New Delhi, adding to the mood of political suspense that seemed to have pervaded Kerala’s polity. 

So far, the AICC has successfully kept its choice a closely guarded secret, seemingly rendering the “leadership contest” a cliffhanger right up to the final whistle.

AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, Deepadas Munsi, will attend the crucial meeting of the Congress’s Legislative Party (CLP) designates. She is expected to arrive at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at 11 a.m. 

A KPCC insider said it was likely that Ms. Munsi might communicate the party high command’s decision to the MLA-designates before the All India Congress Committee (AICC) makes the official announcement from New Delhi. He said the Congress was also likely to seek an appointment with the Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the earliest as a first step towards government formation. 

Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge had held a closed-door meeting in New Delhi to take a final call on the leadership question and deferred the announcement to Thursday (May 14, 2026). 

Faced with opposing rallies and posters in support of the three Chief Minister probables, senior leader Jairam Ramesh, had told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), somewhat cryptically, that the high command would factor in public sentiment concerning the Kerala Chief Minister’s post. 

Meanwhile, United Democratic Front (UDF) constituents, including Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leaders, have sought an appointment with Mr. Arlekar ostensibly to hand over letters supporting the Congress’s prospective government. 

Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leadership is scheduled to convene at the house of the party’s State president, Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, at Panakkad in Malappuram to lay the groundwork for government formation, including finalising the party’s choices for the next UDF cabinet.