Laxman Savadi is one of the most powerful Lingayat leaders in Karnataka. (FILE)
Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi resigned from the BJP after he was denied a ticket to contest the Assembly polls next month. He has now switched over to Congress.
Here are five facts about Laxman Savadi.
- Laxman Savadi served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2019 to 2021 in the BS Yediyurappa government. The 63-year-old has also served as the Minister of Transport of Karnataka.
- Mr Savadi is one of the most powerful Lingayat leaders in Karnataka and is considered a loyalist of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.
- He has won Karnataka's Athani Assembly seat thrice in 2004, 2008, and 2013. He lost the seat to Congress' Mahesh Kumathahalli in the 2018 polls.
- In 2012, Laxman Savadi was embroiled in a controversy after he, along with his colleague CC Patil, was seen watching pornographic films in the Assembly.
- In 2019, Laxman Savadi was rewarded with the post of Deputy Chief Minister for his role in the collapse of the Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition government. The collapse paved the way for the BJP to come to power in Karnataka.