Bengaluru, Nov. 13 -- A letter by Kagawad MLA Bharamagouda (Raju) Kage to chief minister Siddaramaiah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reignited a longstanding demand for separate statehood for the northern Karnataka region.

The letter by Kage, who also serves as chairman of the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), was written on November 4 but made public on Tuesday, demands that the districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, Haveri. Vijayanagar, Ballari be combined to form a new state, citing persistent administrative neglect and an alleged "stepmotherly" treatment by the government.

"North Karnataka is rich with resources and has contrib...