Overview
- The state announced on July 10 that Mysuru Dasara-2026 will run for 11 days with Gajapooja on August 26, an official inauguration on October 11, and the Jumboo Savari and Nandi Pooja on October 21.
- Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said an executive working committee will be set up to finalise arrangements and the government will formally seek central approval to include an Indian Air Force aerobatic display.
- The proposal to stage Kambala as a Dasara attraction has drawn firm objections from Mysuru royal scion MP Yaduveer Wadiyar, BJP leaders and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy who say Kambala belongs to coastal Karnataka.
- Representatives of the Kambala community have offered to fund and organise the event in Mysuru, while heritage activists, farmer groups and conservationists have warned of protests if the plan is pressed without wider consultation.
- The row highlights a deeper contest over regional identity because Mysuru Dasara is rooted in the city's royal traditions and Jumboo Savari pageantry while Kambala is an agrarian coastal custom, and the committee’s recommendation will shape how the state presents its culture to tourists and voters.