Overview
- Government records indicate National Herald was the top recipient of Karnataka’s national-newspaper advertisements in both 2023–24 and 2024–25.
- Allocations totaled Rs 1.90 crore in 2023–24 and about Rs 99 lakh in 2024–25, out of a Rs 1.42 crore spend on national dailies last year with roughly 69% going to National Herald.
- Several established national newspapers reportedly received far less from Karnataka during 2024–25, with some receiving no allocation.
- Media reports describe National Herald’s circulation and readership in Karnataka as negligible despite the outsized allocation.
- The spending has drawn BJP allegations of misuse of public funds and a Congress defense of the paper, against a backdrop of an ED case naming Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and EOW notices to DK Shivakumar and DK Suresh.