Talking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha about his election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, he said: "I am confident the INDIA bloc will win more than 40 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has announced 10 kilos of rice for the poor. We have explained to the people how the Congress will roll out its guarantees at the national level like we implemented our promises within a month of coming to power in Karnataka."

Asked about the meeting on drought relief, he said: "We discussed drinking water, fodder for cattle and other aspects. We will also have a meeting on the impact of rains in Bengaluru soon. We will shortly give instructions to officials to fill up dried-up lakes with treated water. “We have given directions for the officers to prepare a report. The lakes in Bengaluru have dried up and officers are also directed to ensure clean water fills up lakes."

A separate plan of action has been formulated to manage the situation during the rainy season, he added.

Asked about rainwater harvesting, Shivakumar said: "This year we had experience of water shortage. About 7,000 bore wells had dried up. This situation might recur in future if there are no rains... precautionary measures would be taken up."