3 min readBengaluruFeb 24, 2026 08:04 PM IST
First published on: Feb 24, 2026 at 08:04 PM IST
Hundreds of government job aspirants protested in Dharwad on Tuesday demanding that the Karnataka Government fill more than 2 lakh vacant posts in various departments. The Opposition BJP supported the massive protest, organised by the All Karnataka State Students’ Association (AKSSA).
Speaking at the protest, AKSSA president Kanthakumar MP said that around 2.8 lakh government jobs were vacant in the state. “We held a protest last September demanding that the vacancies be filled immediately, but to no avail,” he said.
“Thousands of government job aspirants have hit the streets today as the state government has failed to fill even 5,000 posts since it assumed power in 2023,” he said.
Kanthakumar alleged that the Government had deployed police to suppress the protest, which also witnessed some confusion: half the protesters stayed put at Jubilee Circle while the others attended a public meeting that followed the protest.
Speaking at the protest, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the BJP had filled all vacancies during its tenure in government and was ready to discuss the matter on any platform. “The Government has to accept that it is either bankrupt or should announce the recruitment process immediately,” he said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued a statement that he had taken the protest seriously.
“When we came to power, more than 2.64 lakh government posts were vacant. This situation did not arise overnight; during the previous BJP Government’s tenure, recruitment was not initiated on time. Nor was any proper plan made to fill the vacant posts. It is unfortunate that Opposition leaders are misleading innocent students and using them to fulfil their political interests,” he said.
He said the recruitment crisis in the state was due to “irregularities and corruption in recruitment during the BJP Government’s tenure from 2019 to 2023” and the ongoing court cases related to internal reservation. Noting that the Government had filled 40,000 posts in the past few years, Siddaramaiah said the process of recruitment was underway and would be completed within a fixed timeframe.
Labour Minister Santosh Lad, who is also in charge of Dharwad district, said the BJP was supporting the protest as it had caught wind of a budget announcement to fill 50,000 vacancies in the next fiscal.
Union minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy posted on X that the highest vacancies persist in the education, health, and police departments.
“Alarmingly, 18 key police stations in Bengaluru city are functioning without Inspectors, a telling symptom of a government preoccupied with transfers. This drift in governance is already having adverse consequences on the ground. The government must act with urgency, step down from the third floor of Vidhana Soudha and listen to the voice of the youth,” wrote the Union minister for heavy industries and steel.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued a statement that he had taken the protest seriously. (Photo x.com/siddaramaiah) 
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