While Basavaraj Bommai's selection as the successor to Karnataka chief minister Yediyurappa was a surprise to many, it did not come as a surprise to avid political watchers. He would now occupy the place that Yediyurappa occupied till now. The BJP leadership ensured that Yediyurappa's successor too should belong to the same Lingayat community. The party took care not to annoy the powerful Lingayats, who constitute 19 per cent of the Karnataka population and are solidly behind the BJP. So, it's a continuation of the same caste combination by other means.
Basavaraj Bommai is the son of Karnataka's former CM SR Bommai. Bommai was the CM 32 years ago. Not just that he was the political secretary to another chief minister JH Patel, another Lingayat. He was with the Janata Dali youth wing and became Patel's secretary in 1996. In 2008, he along with 22 MLAs joined the BJP. He has won an MLA seat for six times and was a minister in Yediyurappa government. Bommai is considered a Yediyurappa loyalist. Soon after his name was proposed, Bommai stood up and touched the feet of Yediyurappa.
By electing Basavaraj, the BJP followed two traditions. Firstly the CM is from Uttar Karnataka region. Secondly, he is from the Lingayat community. However, it did not follow the tradition of ensuring that the CM has RSS roots. Bommai is not from the RSS stock. He is from the JDS background. Thus, he joins the list of non-RSS CMs. Goa, Assam already have non-RSS chief ministers. Similarly, Shuvendu Adhikari the leader of the West Bengal BJP legislature party too is from non-RSS stock.
Basavaraj represents Shiggan assembly constituency. He has won as an MLC twice. Bommai did his bachelors in engineering and has worked as an engineer in the Tata Motors group, before joining politics.
Basavaraj Bommai is the son of Karnataka's former CM SR Bommai. Bommai was the CM 32 years ago. Not just that he was the political secretary to another chief minister JH Patel, another Lingayat. He was with the Janata Dali youth wing and became Patel's secretary in 1996. In 2008, he along with 22 MLAs joined the BJP. He has won an MLA seat for six times and was a minister in Yediyurappa government. Bommai is considered a Yediyurappa loyalist. Soon after his name was proposed, Bommai stood up and touched the feet of Yediyurappa.
By electing Basavaraj, the BJP followed two traditions. Firstly the CM is from Uttar Karnataka region. Secondly, he is from the Lingayat community. However, it did not follow the tradition of ensuring that the CM has RSS roots. Bommai is not from the RSS stock. He is from the JDS background. Thus, he joins the list of non-RSS CMs. Goa, Assam already have non-RSS chief ministers. Similarly, Shuvendu Adhikari the leader of the West Bengal BJP legislature party too is from non-RSS stock.
Basavaraj represents Shiggan assembly constituency. He has won as an MLC twice. Bommai did his bachelors in engineering and has worked as an engineer in the Tata Motors group, before joining politics.