India, Feb. 14 -- The Karnataka government has fixed the 2026-27 Budget session from March 6 to March 27, a timeline that Congress leaders said had earlier been viewed by supporters of deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar as a notional deadline in discussions over a possible transfer of power in the state.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present his record 17th Budget on March 6. The Cabinet approved the schedule on Thursday. State law and parliamentary affairs minister H.K. Patil said the session would have 14 sitting days, excluding holidays.

The Budget calendar has been announced amid renewed speculation within the ruling Congress, which crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term on Novembe...