Basavaraj Bommai has been selected as the new Karnataka Chief Minister.
Basavaraj Bommai, home minister in BS Yediyurappa's cabinet, was picked to succeed him as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at a meeting of party MLAs on Tuesday evening. The oath ceremony will be held at 11 am today.
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Basavaraj Bommai, a leader of the politically powerful Lingayat leader like Mr Yediyurappa -- was among his close confidantes.
The son of Janata Dal's SR Bommai -- a former Chief Minister of Karnataka -- Basavaraj Bommai joined the BJP from the Janata Dal United in 2008. The 61-year-old told NDTV that he "never expected it" and had faith only in his "hard work".
Central observers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy attended the meet in Bengaluru.
Mr Yediyurappa was among the first to congratulate the Chief Minister elect. "Congratulations to Shri BS Bommai on being elected as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka. I am confident you will lead Karnataka in the path of development and fulfill the aspirations of people of the state," his tweet read..
For the BJP, filling Mr Yediyurappa's shoes with another Lingayat leader was seen as a compulsion of sorts, given the community – 16 per cent of the state's population -- was not in favour of his removal.
Earlier, religious leaders of the community and a few who even belonged to the opposition Congress, had spoken in favour of Mr Yediurappa's continuation in the post.
Sources said Mr Yediyurappa had resigned on July 10. A senior leader close to him had taken his resignation letter to Delhi and handed it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi the same day.
Mr Yediyurappa, though, had kept up the suspense over his exit till the last minute. In his farewell speech on Monday, the four-time Chief Minister spoke of being constantly tested over the last two years.
The buzz about Mr Yediyurappa's exit grew amid resentment against him and his son. Many speculated that his time in the top post is limited after he visited Delhi earlier this month and met top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP's first Chief Minister in the south, Mr Yediyurappa got his fourth term after a coup in 2019, which saw the alliance government of Janata Dal Secular and the Congress topple as 17 rebels resigned. Most joined the BJP and many became part of Mr Yediyurappa's cabinet.
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