‘Govt to begin process of filling up 74,000 vacant posts’: Minister Priyank Kharge

BENGALURU: The state government will begin the recruitment process for 74,000 vacant posts, with 36,774 of these vacancies to be filled over the next six months, Home minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday.

The recruitment processes will begin immediately following a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and attended by cabinet ministers including Priyank Kharge.

“The Chief Minister has held a meeting. We will start recruitment for 74,000 posts from this Sunday. We will fill 36,774 vacancies in the next six months. The officials have been given accountability so that confusion like the NEET exam should not happen here. We are going to make a random question bank system. We are going to make a tamper-proof question paper and install a jammer in every room,” he said while addressing a press conference here.

Bengaluru, Karnataka: State Minister Priyank Kharge says, “The Chief Minister has held a meeting. We will start recruitment for 74 thousand posts from this Sunday. We will fill 36,774 vacancies in the next 6 months. The officials have been given accountability so that confusion… pic.twitter.com/gmdAHOF3yz

— ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2026

“In the meeting held yesterday, different guidelines were given to the District Collectors. We have been asked to form a flying squad…” Kharge said adding that “starting today, we will go to the test centres of these teams and inspect them.”

Further he clarified on the clothes that can be can and cannot be worn in the examination centre. The Karnataka Examinaton Authority (KEA) guide itself lists out 19 dos and donts, he said. “Udadaara, ling, kumkum, thread worn on the hand are allowed. Hijab is not allowed for examinees but scarf is allowed”, the minister said.

Chief Minister Shivakumar had on Friday chaired a meeting with senior officials to review preparedness for examinations to be conducted for recruitment to vacant posts in the State government.

The government of Karnataka decided to form the Competitive Examinations and Recruitment Reform Committee under the chairmanship of S V Ranganath, former chief secretary, and consisting of former chief secretaries T M Vijayabhaskar and Vandita Sharma and Financial Adviser to the Chief Minister L K Atheeq.

Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra had on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into all alleged recruitment irregularities, including those in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), accusing the Congress government of “playing with the future of the youth” by failing to ensure a transparent recruitment process and fill vacant government posts.

Addressing a protest organised by KPSC aspirants and other job seekers at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Vijayendra alleged that large-scale irregularities in government recruitment had eroded public trust and deprived deserving candidates of employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, the written exam for 3,991 Civil Police Constable posts in the State is scheduled to be held for August 2, 2026 and will be conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) ) across multiple centrse statewide. (ANI)