After throwing some red herrings to keep everyone guessing by circulating a handful of probable and improbable names for the new chief minister of Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s central leadership has settled on 61-year-old Basavaraj Bommai, who represents both continuity and change.
After pushing BS Yediyurappa to resign "voluntarily", the BJP wanted to make sure that not to antagonise him further, and his successor would have his cooperation and blessings. Once Yediyurappa resigned on the day he completed two years in office and made his displeasure at being pressurised to quit known at his farewell speech, the BJP moved gingerly to appoint a new chief minister.
With Yediyurappa's advancing age impacting administration and 2023 Assembly elections in mind, the party had begun nudging the Lingayat strongman to step aside. However, after making the tough call of sidelining him and immediately facing the backlash from his powerful community, the BJP had little option but to choose another Lingayat to replace him.
But, a "hurt" Yediyurappa refused to name anyone nor place his cards before the party high command. On his last day as chief minister, he even declared that he was not interested in any gubernatorial post and would remain active in politics in the state, "serving the BJP till my last breath." Indications were that Yediyurappa wanted a non-Lingayat to replace him, perhaps hoping to retain his supremacy in the party.
To get around his doggedness, the BJP sent the names of two Lingayats, Aravind Bellad and Basavaraj Bommai, with the central observers of the party, Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishen Reddy. They met Yediyurappa just before the legislature party meeting and asked him to choose between the two. Bommai, his perceived confidant, got the approval.
Bellad being the bright, young MLA from north Karnataka with impressive qualifications, had caught the fancy of the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo. They perhaps even briefly toyed with the idea of making him the chief minister and presenting a brand new look to their government in Karnataka. But, given the volatility of politics in the state, they quickly fell back on a conservative approach rather than being adventurous.
By getting Yediyurappa to propose Bommai's name, the BJP had achieved multiple objectives. It made Yediyurappa happy that his 'right-hand man' had got the job, though, in reality, he had endorsed a Lingayat candidate selected by the central leadership. With Bommai's elevation to the chief minister's post, the BJP has also quietly nipped in the bud Yediyurappa's desire to see his son, Vijayendra, made a deputy chief minister, which would not have gone down well within the party.
The preference given to an outsider like Bommai – he migrated from the Janata Dal Parivar to the BJP only in 2008 – over the claims of party loyalists and those with the RSS background, as conventional wisdom would suggest, presents new thinking in the BJP.
Bommai is a moderate and carries no 'RSS baggage', which perhaps helps BJP widen its appeal. As the state BJP is riddled with factionalism, Bommai's neutrality, calm demeanour, and previous experiences might come in handy to manage the situation and keep the party together till the next Assembly elections.
Like his father, SR Bommai was chief minister in 1988-89; Basavaraj Bommai makes the second father-son duo after HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy to achieve a rare feat. Unlike Kumaraswamy, who had generous helping from his father, Bommai has worked his way up after being in politics for nearly three decades, twice as an MLC and three times as an MLA.
From his early days in politics, he has displayed a shrewd political brain. As political secretary to former chief minister JH Patel in 1999-2000, he played a significant role in the survival of the Patel government, which was caught in the crossfire between the supporters of the then Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his bête noir, Ramakrishna Hegde.
As the water resources minister in the first Yediyurappa cabinet in 2008, Bommai showed considerable skills in assisting the state's legal team in Delhi fighting the river disputes with the neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. After Yediyurappa resigned in 2011 on corruption charges, Bommai made it to two more short-tenure governments headed by DV Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar that followed based on his ability and non-controversial nature.
When Yediyurappa returned to power in May 2019, Bommai was entrusted with the prestigious home portfolio at the instance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Later, he handled parliamentary affairs and coordinated the legislature work after 14 defectors from the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) joined the ministry. As head of the government, his focus will be on administration and ensuring that the development works, which have lagged, are speeded.
It will be interesting to see what role Yediyurappa will play in the next two years till the elections. Yediyurappa would perhaps like to become the chairman of a coordination committee that acts as the bridge between the party and the government. But, it may create a parallel power centre, and the BJP leadership is unlikely to agree to it.
Considering that Bommai looks upon Yediyurappa as his mentor, he may not be averse to the idea of Yediyurappa playing an active role in the party while he concentrates on administration. State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel's tenure will be coming to an end shortly. Yediyurappa may be offered its presidentship for a third term, but whether he has the energy and appetite for it remains to be seen.
(The writer is a senior journalist)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.