From DKS to ‘Samrat Ashoka’, Karnataka MLAs dissolve party lines to seek free IPL tickets: ‘We are VIPs’

BJP leader raises issue in House; Congress MLA explains why KSCA must give special treatment to MLAs, demands five tickets each; speaker says four could do.

Updated on: Mar 27, 2026, 06:04:05 IST

Written by Aarish Chhabra

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Nothing brings Indians together like cricket does — even across political boundaries. Karnataka has presented the latest example of this. Steeped in “VIP” culture, though.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli, captain Rajat Patidar, and others during a practice session ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 cricket match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on Thursday, March 26. (PTI Photo)

Legislators from both the state’s ruling Congress and the opposition BJP want free tickets — one MLA set the bar at five each — for the Indian Premier League (IPL) inaugural match to be held in Bengaluru.

The issue came up in the legislative assembly, raised by Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, who got support from across the board.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar referred to a legendary Mauryan king as he said he would raise it with the Karnataka State Cricket Association. "I will surely tell them this is a request from 'Samrat Ashok’," he said in jest inside the assembly, NDTV reported.

IPL 2026 starts this Saturday with a match between home team Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Vijayanand Kashappanavar, the Congress MLA from Hungund, later explained why KSCA must give special treatment to MLAs. "They (cricket association) are taking all the facilities from the government. They are getting all the security, everything… But they are not respecting MLAs," he told the media, as per the report.

"We are VIPs. We can't go in the queue and stand there. We went last time… They are sending us to a gallery with the public. It's not going to happen,” he further said.

(In case you did not know from context, VIP is short for ‘Very Important Personality’, used in government protocols too.)

Kashappanavar laid out the demand in numbers as he explained how he supported the BJP’s R Ashoka inside the assembly. “We requested the Speaker to take necessary action and issue a minimum of five tickets for the MLAs," he said. He also claimed the KSCA was “collecting money and enjoying”.

Inside the House, R Ashoka also slammed the KSCA. "We have given them 16.32 acres of land at a nominal price of just about ₹1,600 a month; but they charge us thousands for match tickets. They have crores of rupees and they loot us; and the government wants to build another stadium for such people. They need to be taught a lesson," he said.

Speaker UT Khader told the government to hold discussions with the KSCA “regarding this issue that MLAs are raising”. “They sometimes give just one ticket to MLAs… they should give a minimum of four tickets to the MLA and family," Khader said, tempering the demand to a number lower than five.

At this, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said: "I will speak to the KSCA president and sort this out. I'm a member there too.”

Former Team India pacer Venkatesh Prasad is the current president of the KSCA.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aarish Chhabra
Aarish Chhabra is an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times online team, writing news reports and explanatory articles, besides overseeing coverage for the website. His career spans nearly two decades across India's most respected newsrooms in print, digital, and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats — from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary — building a body of work that reflects both editorial rigour and a deep curiosity about the society he writes for. Aarish studied English literature, sociology and history, besides journalism, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and started his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of ‘The Big Small Town: How Life Looks from Chandigarh’, a collection of critical essays originally serialised as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, examining the culture and politics of a city that is far more than its famous architecture — and, in doing so, holding up a mirror to modern India. In stints at the BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV, and Jagran New Media, he worked across formats and languages; mainly English, also Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project replicated across the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and content quality. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, he developed a website that simplified academic research in management. At Bennett University's Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing, to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from a small town to a bigger town to a mega city for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture — a perspective that informs both his writing and his view of the world. When not working, he is constantly reading long-form journalism or watching brainrot content, sometimes both at the same time.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.