He was addressing a press conference here. “Just because Reddy has been named in the Lokayukta report, he does not become an accused. Hence, Reddy’s arrest will have no impact,” the Chief Minister said.

The pro-people initiatives of the BJP government in the last three years would be the poll plank of the party, Gowda said. He expressed confidence that the victory margin for the BJP candidate, Karadi Sanganna, would be more than 20,000 votes.

The new Lokayukta would be appointed soon after the bypoll, the chief minister announced. The appointment would be made taking the Opposition parties into confidence.
The additional chief secretary has been asked to prepare a report on the 771 officers named in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining and action will be taken based on the report, he said.

Action would be taken against those MLAs who have been named in the report also, Gowda said, adding that the opinion of the advocate general had been sought in this regard.
The State-level committee on festivals would decide on whether to hold the Hampi utsav in November or January, the chief minister said.