I am just first among equals, said Basavaraj Bommai, who was sworn in as the 30th chief minister of Karnataka on July 28. The 61-year-old Lingayat leader from north Karnataka clinched the top post from a clutch of contenders.
The BJP ensured a smooth and swift transition within 30 hours of its poster boy and Lingayat strongman Yediyurappa announcing his decision to step down as chief minister. Bommai’s anointment was undoubtedly a strategy to placate the politically influential Lingayat community that accounts for 17 per cent of the state’s population. The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community pontiffs, who were miffed with the BJP for dethroning Yediyurappa, can now find solace in his confidant occupying the top seat.
Bommai is the son of former chief minister S.R. Bommai, who, along with J.H. Patel, H.D. Deve Gowda and Ramakrishna Hegde, founded the Janata Party. Bommai grew up in a joint family in Deshpande Nagar, Hubballi, did his schooling from Rotary School, mechanical engineering from BVB college and underwent technical training at Telco, Pune.
Bommai dreamt of becoming an industrialist, but dived into politics, becoming political secretary to chief minister Patel in 1996. He also won two terms as a legislative councillor in 1998 and 2004 from Dharwad local authorities’ constituency. He lost the 2004 assembly elections from Hubli Rural (now Hubballi-Dharwad Central) to BJP’s Jagadish Shettar. In 2007, he took part in the 232km-long farmers’ padayatra from Dharwad to Naragund. He joined the BJP in 2008. He has won the Shiggaon seat in Haveri district for three consecutive terms.
この記事は THE WEEK の August 08, 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は THE WEEK の August 08, 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
