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Basavaraj Bommai elected as next Karnataka Chief Minister

Basavaraj Bommai
Basavaraj Bommai

Basavaraj Somappa Bommai, the current Minister of State for Home Affairs and Law, has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Bommai, the newly selected Chief Minister of Karnataka, on Tuesday said the state will have a pro-people and pro-poor people governance. Bommai was selected by the BJP to take over the reins of outgoing CM BS Yediyurappa in the state. “I am going to meet the Governor now. BS Yediyurappa is our leader, he will always remain our leader and he will do the mentoring for the party and the workers," he said.

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the “guidance” and told media, “Under the guidance of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, I will work for strengthening the party. I am now going to Raj Bhawan along with the central leadership. It will be a pro-people and pro-poor people governance.”‘

Meanwhile, Yediyurappa said, “We have unanimously elected Bommai as the Chief Minister. We are very happy. He will definitely work very hard.”

It was earlier reported that BS Yediyurappa, who resigned as the Karnataka chief minister on Monday, would likely name Bommai if asked to suggest his successor for the chief minister’s post.

Bommai was elected as the new chief minister of Karnataka by the BJP Legislature party in the presence of central observers and the state in charge. Outgoing CM BS Yediyurappa was also present at the meeting that took place at Hotel Capitol in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The two-time MLC and three-time MLA from Shiggaon in Haveri district elected as Leader of BJP Legislature Party of Karnataka and set to be New CM as successor of BS Yediyurappa.

Born on January 28, 1960, Bommai belongs to the Sadara Lingayat community. He is a close confidant of Yediyurappa and hails from the ‘janata parivar’, according to News18. His father SR Bommai also served as Karnataka’s chief minister.Basavaraj Bommai joined the BJP in 2008 and has risen in the party ranks since then. In the past, he held the portfolio of water resources. He is an engineer by profession and started his career with the Tata group.

Initiating the formal process to replace B S Yediyurappa, who resigned as Karnataka CM, the Bharatiya Janata Party central leadership directed the state unit to convene a meeting of the legislature party in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Union Ministers and BJP observers for Karnataka, G Kishan Reddy and Dharmendra Pradhan were in Bengaluru to decide on the new leader.

Earlier reports suggested that the BJP had shortlisted eight persons for the post and added that most likely a Lingayat will be picked to take forward the legacy of Yediyurappa in the state.

Dharwad West MLA Aravind Bellad, Vijayapura MLA Basannagouda Patil Yatnal, Karnataka Mines and Geology Minister Murgesh R Nirani and Basavaraj Bommai may get a chance as they belong to Panchamasali Lingayat community, are among the contenders.

(With inputs from News18)