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Minister MB Patil to represent Karnataka at WEF 2026 in Davos after DK Shivakumar opts out; BJP slams ‘misplaced priorities’

DK Shivakumar had called off his Davos trip as the WEF 2026 coincides with the start of the Karnataka legislature’s joint session on Thursday which will see a special discussion against the repeal of MGNREGA.

3 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jan 19, 2026 03:37 PM IST

Karnataka Industries Minister M B Patil said the state’s engagement at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 in Davos will be guided by an ‘execution-first’ approach, with a strong emphasis on converting investment intent into on-ground implementation. (Express Photo)

Karnataka Industries Minister M B Patil will represent the state at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) being held at Davos in Switzerland from January 19 to 23. Though Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was previously scheduled to represent Karnataka at the annual summit, he called it off at the last minute citing official engagements.

According to a statement issued by Patil on Sunday, “The state’s engagement at WEF Davos will be guided by an ‘execution-first’ approach, with a strong emphasis on converting investment intent into on-ground implementation.” During the four-day programme, the Karnataka delegation is scheduled to take part in over 45 high-level engagements, including bilateral meetings and roundtables.

The meetings scheduled include those with global majors such as Amazon Web Services, Lenovo, Vast Space, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris, Imperial College London and the Singapore Economic Development Board. The government is looking to attract international investors across sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, electronics, data centres and Global Capability Centres (GCCs).

“The state is prioritising real investments and their conversion. Our effort is to move investment intent swiftly towards filings, approvals, land allotments and actual execution on the ground,” Patil said.

As part of the Davos programme, the state delegation will also host a session, ‘Karnataka’s Emerging Industry Advantage’, highlighting investment opportunities across key sectors and the state’s ability to support faster commissioning of projects.

The Opposition BJP has, meanwhile, taken exception to Shivakumar’s decision to pull out of the Davos visit, accusing him of putting the interests of his party above that of the country. Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra said on Sunday that the deputy chief minister’s conduct clearly exposed the apathy of Congress leadership towards governance. “This government has made its priorities unmistakably clear: not development, not governance, but mere political survival. Karnataka deserves leadership that puts the state first,” he said.

Shivakumar had called off his Davos trip citing prior commitments in New Delhi and Bengaluru. The summit coincides with the start of the joint session of the state legislature on Thursday, where the Karnataka Congress government will hold a special discussion against the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The discussion is part of its statewide campaign which Shivakumar, who is also the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), will oversee.

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Apart from this, the deputy chief minister was recently entrusted with the responsibility of the upcoming Assembly polls in Assam.

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