Vidhana Soudha the seat of Legislative Assembly of Karnataka is one of the finest buildings in Bengaluru(Bangalore) and one which attracts tourists a lot. It was commissioned to be built in the early 1950's by the then Chief Minister Sri Kengal Hanumanthiah. The foundation was laid by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951. Recently a similar shorter building named "Vikas Soudha" was constructed close to it to accomodate the growing needs of offices for the government of Karnataka initiated by former chief Minister S.M. Krishna.