Basavaraj Bommai

Basavaraj Somappa Bommai (born 28 January 1960) is an Indian politician and engineer who served as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka from 18 July 2021 to 19 May 2023.

He is formerly serving Interim Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and He was former member of the Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United).

Bommai was born on 28 January 1960 to former Chief Minister S. R. Bommai and his wife Gangamma Bommai in Hubli, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka).

Bommai is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from KLE Technological University, and started his career with Tata Motors in Pune.

He is also an agriculturist and industrialist by profession.

He is married to Chennamma and has two children.

He belongs to Sadar Lingayat community.

Over 60 people were identified and detained by the cops after the December 19th violence.

The Karnataka government also suspended mobile Internet services in Dakshina Kannada district in Mangaluru for few hours in the wake of violence.

Bommai started his political career as a member of the Janata Dal in 1992.

While in Janata Dal, he worked with senior politicians of the Janata Dal like H. D. Deve Gowda and Ramakrishna Hegde.

He later also served as a political secretary to then Chief Minister J. H. Patel.

Bommai contested the 1994 Karnataka legislative assembly elections from Hubli Rural constituency as a member of the Janata Dal.

However, he lost the election to Jagadish Shettar of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Between 1998 and 2008, he was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council from Dharwad local authorities.

Bommai was elected as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council in 1998 from Dharwad local authorities constituency as a member Janata Dal.

After the dissolution of the Janata Dal, he joined the Janata Dal (United).

Later in 2004, he was re-elected from Dharwad local authorities constituency as a member Janata Dal (United).

He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the legislature of Karnataka for Shiggaon, from where he has been elected four times since 2008.

He served as Minister for Water Resources and major and medium irrigation from 2008 to 2013, Home Affairs, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and Cooperation between 2019 and 2021 minister in charge of Haveri and Udupi districts from 2019 to 2021.

In July 2022, Bommai became only the second person from BJP Karnataka, to complete one year as chief minister of the state.

During his tenure he was called the "Common Man - CM" by the media and his followers.

Bommai is the son of the former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Union Minister of Human Resource Development, S. R. Bommai, who is widely remembered as the champion for the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India, S. R. Bommai v. Union of India, considered one of the most quoted verdicts in the country's political history.

Basavaraj Bommai and his father are only the second father and son duo after H. D. Devegowda and H. D. Kumaraswamy to become the Chief Ministers of Karnataka.

He quit the Janata Dal (United) in February 2008 and later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the same month of the year.

In the 2008 Karnataka state elections, he was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Shiggaon constituency in Haveri district.

He was considered as a close aide of the then Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa.

In February 2008, he left Janata Dal (United) and joined Bharatiya Janata Party.

The same year he was elected to Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Shiggaon constituency.

Between 2008 and 2013 Bommai served as Minister for Water Resources under Chief Ministers B. S. Yediyurappa, Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar.

Bommai is widely acclaimed for his contributions to irrigation schemes and deep knowledge regarding irrigation matters in Karnataka.

He is also credited with implementing India's first 100% piped irrigation project at Shiggaon in Haveri district of Karnataka.

In the Fourth Yediyurappa ministry he held key ministerial portfolios, serving as Minister of State for Home Affairs, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and as Minister for Cooperation.

He also served as Minister in charge of Haveri and Udupi districts.

In December 2019, a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Mangalore turned into violence and riots when a mob of protesters attempted to lay siege to the Mangalore North police station and tried to attack cops.

Section 144 was imposed by the Police department around the areas of the riots.

Later two people were killed in Mangalore in police firing after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act turned too violent.

The Home Minister Bommai set-up a team and ordered probe into this matter.

After the 2020 Bangalore riots, then Home Minister Bommai ordered a detailed investigation and assured compensation for damaged property be forcibly provided by known participants in the riots, a policy proposed by Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh following anti-CAA protests there.

During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Karnataka, Bommai, as Home Minister, imposed strict lockdown regulations.