AMN / NEWS DESK
Three time MLA and senior BJP leader Basavraj Bommai will be new chief minister of Karnataka. He has been elected as leader of legislative party following resignation of B S Yediyurappa.
Mr. Bommai met Governor Taawarchand Gehlot late at night on Tuesday and will be sworn in alone on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has announced that BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai is elected by the legislative party in a meeting held at Bengaluru under the observation of Union Ministers Dharnendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy.
B S Yediyurappa had stepped down yesterday due to age factor.
Basavaraj Bommai is three time MLA from Shegaon in Haveri district in North Karnataka and was the Home Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the Yediyurappa Cabinet. He is considered a close confidant of Yediyurappa, Bommai will be the 20th Chief Minister of the State.
Significantly,
Mr. Bommai, who joined the BJP only in 2008, is not from the RSS stables and was earlier associated with the JD(U). This makes him an exception among BJP Chief Ministers in the State. He is a moderate face, not known to take a hardline Hindutva stance and an amenable man across party lines.
Though there had been intense and wild speculation on the possibility of the BJP throwing a “surprise” choice, the saffron party played it safe by going with Mr. Bommai who does not disrupt the caste calculations and, significantly, is seen as a man who is close to the Lingayat strongman and outgoing Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. He also meets the long-pending demand for a man from North Karnataka to be at the helm of affairs in the State.
Speaking after staking claim, Mr. Bommai thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party, besides Mr. Yediyurappa whom he described as his mentor.
“I have been chosen unanimously by the BJPLP. I will not fail the expectations of Mr. Modi, the party, Mr. Yediyurappa and will give a pro-people administration. I will take all measures to improve the health of the economy hit by the pandemic. I will serve the people with the blessings of the elders,” he said.