Bengaluru: Basavaraj Bommai is the new Karnataka CM

Agencies

Bengaluru, 27 Jul 2021: Three-time legislator Basavaraj Bommai is Karnataka’s new chief minister, a decision the BJP took Tuesday keeping in mind several factors, including the long-pending demand for the post to be occupied by someone from north Karnataka.

 

  

 

Bommai, 61, is expected to take oath as the state’s 26th chief minister on Wednesday. 

 

With under two years to go for the 2023 elections, the BJP found a safe bet in Bommai as he ticked enough boxes: He is a Lingayat, the party’s traditional support base. He represents Shiggaon in Haveri, a north Karnataka district and he comes with prior administrative experience. He is known to maintain a cordial relationship with leaders from all parties. 

 

A mechanical engineer, Bommai’s name was upheld in the BJP Legislature Party meeting whose proceedings were overseen by Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy. 

 

A former minister of Water Resources and Home Departments, Bommai is seen as a trusted aide of outgoing Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, also a Lingayat. But unlike Yediyurappa, who belongs to the Ganiga sub-sect, Bommai is a Sadar-Lingayat, which is not a dominant group within the Lingayats.

 

Bommai, the son of former chief minister SR Bommai, joined the BJP in 2008 after starting his political career with the Janata Dal.