Karnataka Government and Politics
What do we know about Karnataka government and politics?
The government of Karnataka is headed by a Governor. In this democratic form of government, the Chief Minister as well as the council of ministers is appointed by the Governor. Most of the legislative powers are vested on them. Although the governor remains the head of the state, most of the day-to-day duties of the government are taken care of by the chief minister and his council of ministers.
The current state government is under the Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the Congress.
Karnataka government is divided into the following administrative divisions:
- Revenue circles: 747
- Revenue divisions: 4
- Sub-divisions: 49
- Taluks: 176
- Towns: 281
- Districts: 30
- Municipal corporations: 7
Form of Legislature in Karnataka
The State Legislature of Karnataka comprises of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly and is bi-cameral in nature.
Legislative Assembly: The assembly is a seat of total 224 members, out of which the Karnataka Governor nominates one member to represent the community of Anglo-Indians. Each of these members of the Legislative Assembly can hold office for 5 years.
Legislative Council: This is a permanent part of the government, where one-third of the members retire every 2 years. Every member of this council is allowed to hold office for 6 years though.
Who forms the Ministry of Karnataka?
Headed by Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, the present Governor of Karnataka, the ministry of the state is formed by K. Siddaramaiah, the current Chief Minister of the state and his Cabinet of Ministers. The below mentioned table provides an overview of the Cabinet of Ministers of Karnataka:
- Department of Cabinet Affairs
- Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms
- Department of Finance including Institutional Finance and excluding Excise
- Intelligence Wing from Home Department
- Mines and Geology from Commerce & Industries Department
- Minority Welfare from Social Welfare Department
- Revenue Department
- Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
- Transport Department
- Home Department
- Water Resources Department
- Kannada and Culture Department
- Law, Justice and Human Rights, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislature Department
- Urban Development Department
- Primary and Secondary Education Department
- Agriculture Department.
- Major and Medium Irrigation from Water Resources Department.
- Large and Medium Scale Industries from C&I Department.
- Housing Department
- Labour Department
- Sericulture from Horticulture Department
- Sugar from Commerce & Industries Department
- Horticulture Department
- Mass Education and Public Libraries from Education Department
- Small Savings and Lotteries from Finance Department
- Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Department
- Municipalities and Local Bodies (CMCs, TMCs and TPs) From Urban
- Development Department
- Department of Public Enterprises
- Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation
- Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board
- Medical Education Department
- Science and Technology Department
- Social Welfare Department
- Prisons from Home Department
- Textile From Commerce & Industries Department
- Ecology and Environment Department
- Planning Department
- Statistics Department.
- Higher Education Department.
- Food and Civil Supplies Department
- Co-operation Department.
- Health and Family Welfare Department
- Women and Child Development Department
- Youth Services and Sports Department
Who forms the Executive form of government in Karnataka?
A District Magistrate or a Deputy Commissioner heads this form of state government, who is supported by the officers of the civil services and the other state services of Karnataka. Some of the most important officials belonging to this form of government are Deputy Commissioner of Police, who is responsible for law and order of the state and Deputy Conservator of Forests, who looks after forest lands of the state. The district head of the varied departments looks after the sectoral development.
Who forms the judiciary form of government in Karnataka?
Karnataka High Court is the main component of the state s judiciary. Advocate General of the state is also Karnataka's Chief Legal Advisor. The same person is designated as Chief Magistrate in the metropolitan areas of the state. Some of the other important positions included in the judiciary system of the state are:
- Chief Judicial Magistrate
- Judicial Magistrate
- Civil Judges
- District Judges
- Session Judges
The national parties in Karnataka at a glance:-
The Indian National Congress - In the year 1994, S. Bangiappa post fragmenting away from the Indian National Congress main body, established the Karnataka Congress Party (KCP). But after a rather abysmal performance in the state assembly where the KCP only managed to secure 10 seats, it retreated under the shell of one of the national parties, the Indian National Congress. Being headed by Sonia Gandhi, it is indeed a force to be reckoned with and constitutes an integral appendage of the Karnataka politics.
The Janata Dal (Secular) - It made its presence felt during the year 1977, under the apt guidance of Jayprakash Narayan. This party has the former Prime Minister of India, HD Deve Gowda as its functional head and is known to have formulated the maiden coalition government in the dominion named Karnataka along with the Indian National Congress.
Bharatiya Janata Party - It comprises of an elite group of politicians like B.S. Yediyurappa, former Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayee, former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani and many more.
Karnataka Administrative Service
The Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) holds an important and prestigious position in the general administration of this southern state of India.
KAS, under the authorization of Karnataka Public Service Commission, was formulated by the constitution of India in the year 1951. Earlier to that, the appointments to the KAS and the related functions were carried out by the state government.
To facilitate the smooth functioning of administrative services in the state, Karnataka has been divided into a number of sub-divisions and districts. Each sub-division is handled by an IAS officer who is helped out in the job by a team of officers belonging to the Karnataka Administrative Services.
KAS operates out of the office building called Park House which is situated in Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore. Prior to 1951, the administrative services were conducted at the United India building in Bangalore City.
One of the most important functions of KAS is to conduct and regularise the entrance examinations for the recruitment of administrative officers. Competitive examination, personal test and interview are held to recruit the officers.
This commission is headed by a chairman, a secretary and the board of members who assist the chairman in his day-to-day office affairs. It is the responsibility of this body to run the administration of the state smoothly and efficiently.
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