Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has reportedly urged companies and business establishments across the state to offer three days of paid leave to workers from Bihar so they can return home and vote in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Reports citing a letter dated November 3, quoted Shivakumar as saying that many people from Bihar are employed in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka. With polling scheduled for November 6 and 11, 2025, he appealed to employers—including hotel owners, contractors, builders, and shopkeepers—to help their employees exercise their democratic rights.
“I request all companies and business establishments to provide at least three days of paid leave to voters from Bihar to facilitate their participation in the elections,” he stated, adding that such cooperation would strengthen voter participation and democracy.
The Karnataka Deputy CM had earlier called on Biharis living in Bengaluru to support the Mahagathbandhan alliance in the Bihar Assembly polls. He urged them to back Tejashwi Yadav for Chief Minister and Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minister. Calling Biharis a hardworking community, the senior Congress leader said his party’s vision would bring comprehensive development to Bihar and promised that if the INDIA alliance forms the government it would introduce welfare and guarantee schemes similar to those implemented in Karnataka.
