Karnataka: A Lingayat MLA will again be named chief minister of Karnataka by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources in the party have told. BS Yediyurappa, who resigned as chief minister on Monday, was also a member of this politically influential community. Current Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai is said to be the top contender for the chief ministerial post among Lingayat MLAs. Several sources predict that his name will be announced today.
About Basavaraj Bommai
Basavaraj Bommai, a Sadara Lingayat, was born on 28 January 1960. A close confidant of BS Yediyurappa, he hails from the Janata Pariwar. Bommai’s father served as the chief minister of Karnataka. Since joining the BJP in 2008, Basavaraj Bommai has risen to the top of the party. He previously held the portfolio of water resources. Engineer by profession, he began his career at the Tata group.
From Shiggaon in Haveri district, he is a two-time MLC and a three-time MLA. ‘We will find out about the new chief minister after the legislature party meeting,’ Bommai told to reporters when asked if he would be Karnataka’s next chief minister. In his words, ‘Managing the Covid-19 situation will be a challenge for the next chief minister. We have to deal with it’.
A BJP legislative party meeting at 7 p.m.
The BJP has called a meeting of its legislature party at 7 pm today to begin the process of replacing BS Yediyurappa. The party’s central leadership has instructed the state unit to call a meeting of the legislature party in Bengaluru. ‘The legislature party is meeting at 7 p.m. today at a hotel,’ Basavaraj S Bommai said. Afterward, a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board will be held where the new chief minister will be decided, he added.
The BJP general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh will attend the legislator party meeting with Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy. Yediyurappa became the first chief minister in Indian history to resign the day after his two-year term expired.
A Chance for MLAs
Non-Lingayat MLAs of the BJP have reportedly been planning to suggest to the party’s central observers that they should allow MLAs from other communities to become chief ministers. There is a good chance that these MLAs will tell the central leadership that other communities are also important for the BJP in Karnataka. ‘The BJP has always made a Lingayat leader its face in the state. It’s time for other communities to grow in the party,’ one of the MLAs said.
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Why Lingayats are BJP’s key to success
BS Yediyurappa comes from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. It is considered to be the BJP’s core support base in Karnataka and has historically influenced the state’s politics. Since 1956, eight chief ministers from Karnataka’s Lingayat community have served as chief minister. This politically influential community is estimated to have a significant presence in about 140 of Karnataka’s 224 assembly constituencies, and a decisive presence in about 90 of them. Today, the community comprises nearly 17 percent of the state’s population. According to experts, it would be foolish for any political party to offend the Lingayat community.
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