Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Welcome to the Karnataka Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today.

BJP candidate for Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and sitting MP Pratap Simmha made their first public appearance together in Mysuru on March 18 after the latter was denied the party ticket for the general elections. To send a message of unity after the ticket announcement, they jointly addressed a media conference in Mysuru.

Nevertheless, despite showing up together, there was no bonhomie between the two during the one-hour long media interaction where reporters posed a volley of questions to both on the political developments over the last week.

“People need not have to come to the palace looking for me as I will come out of the palace to addressing public grievances upon being elected as the MP,” said BJP candidate Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, who is the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family. “There are no special privileges for us now. We are in a democracy, and all are common. If elected, I will be like any other MP and represent the people of Mysore-Kodagu constituency. I shall be accessible, and shall also reach out to the people on different platforms. I will come out of the palace to listen to the people. I will have my office outside the palace,” said Mr Wadiyar, at a media interaction in Mysuru on March 18.

Scientists at Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), in collaboration with scientists from Japan, Denmark and the United States, have developed a synthetic material design that enables them to control the temperature at which a material can overcome electronic ‘traffic jams’ , a transition from an electricity insulator to a conductor, setting the ground for an electronic switch that is more efficient than a transistor.

The Tobacco Board has authorised a crop size of 100 million kg for Karnataka during the year 2024-25. G. Bulli Subba Rao, Regional Manager of Tobacco Board, Mysuru, said that the board has authorised tobacco cultivation on 1.70 lakh hectares by registered tobacco growers at the rate of 1,806 kg per simplex barn.

Bangalore Development Authority has initiated steps to acquire 300 acres of land for Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout in Bengaluru, a process that was pending for the last 14 years. The acquisition of this parcel of land had been under litigation as revenue sites had come up there. BDA’s latest move comes in the backdrop of the High Court upholding the acquisition of the land while imposing conditions on BDA.