Udayavani
 
Bangalore, Aug 24: Two new districts Ramnagar and Chikkaballapur were inaugurated on Thursday, taking the total number of districts in Karnataka to 29.

Ramnagar has been carved as a new district bifurcating Bangalore Rural and Chikkaballapur from Kolar district.

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, who represents the Ramnagar assembly constituency, told the gathering that he would spend more time with the people of the district after October three, the day, he was required to hand over power to the BJP under the power-sharing pact the JDS has struck with the saffron party.

"It has not been possible for me to devote more time to people of my constituency in the last 18 months after I became the chief minister," he said, but did not directly indicate that he will hand over power to the BJP on that day.

Kumaraswamy assured the people that he would strive for the development of the new district.

Deputy chief minister B S Yediyurappa participated in the function for a brief while and left for Mysore.

When the chief minister made the comment that he would be a free man from October three, Yediyurappa, who has been waiting to succeed Kumaraswamy, was not present.

BJP sources said Yediyurappa was unwilling to share the dais with Kumaraswamy in the wake of heightened fissures between them but the district administration persuaded him to participate.

Kumaraswamy later inaugurated the newly-created Chikkaballapur district.