Within two months of launch, Karnataka’s youngest news channel, Republic Kannada, has set a new industry benchmark with its highly successful Republic Kannada Summit themed ‘Kanasina Karnataka’ or ‘Dream Karnataka’.

The ground event, held on December 1 in Bengaluru hosted over 40 top personalities from across Karnataka in an event that was live non-stop on the ground and on screen from 8am to 8pm, thereby setting a record for the industry, the news channel said in a media statement yesterday.

The summit, aimed at getting the who’s who of the State to speak on what it takes to be a ‘Dream Karnataka’, brought together top religious figures, ministers, politicians across the spectrum, activists, actors, academics, scientists, thinkers, veterans, top diplomats and big nationalist voices all on one stage.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar attended the event and, in a one-hour interaction, deliberated on politics, Brand Bengaluru and his vision of ‘Kanasina Karnataka’.

Top State ministers, including Ramalinga Reddy, Chaluvaraya Swamy, former Chief Ministers Sadananda Gowda, Basavaraj Bommai, and MPs Tejaswi Surya and Pratap Simha attended the event. JDS chief & former CM HD Kumaraswamy and Leader Of Opposition R Ashoka made a joint appearance at the summit. BJP State President BY Vijayendra gave his maiden interview at the Republic Kannada Summit while speaking about the challenges he faces in his new role.

Young political voices Raksha Ramaiah and Pradip Easwar shared the stage on the need for youth to join the battle for a greater Karnataka. ISRO scientist, who was a part of Chandrayaan 3 mission, Dr Uma, was at the summit and, along with actor Bhavana, former minister Shashikala Jolle, was on the women’s panel. Deliberating on the Kaveri issue were farmer leaders Kuruburu Shantakumar and Badagalpura Nagendra. Basavaraj Horatti, Chairman of the Legislative Council, deliberated on ways in which the Constitution can strengthen the fight for the real issues of the people of Karnataka.

Republic Kannada Summit paid tribute to stars and late actors Puneeth Rajkumar and Chiranjeevi Sarja. Actors Meghana Raj and Saptami Gowda discussed ways in which cinema can take the Karnataka story forward. Thinker Chakravarthy Sulibele, Ambassador N Parthasarathi and Air Marshal Murali (Retd) spoke about the ‘Nation First’ principle at the event.

Launched on September 23, Republic Kannada has already set new records with its opening (as per BARC India data) with the third highest time spent in the Breaking News Day News Wheel, the statement added.