BASAVARAJ Bommai on Wednesday took oath as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka, ending months of speculation about the change of guard in the State. The 61-year-old leader was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at the Raj Bhawan here. The Karnataka BJP legislature party on Tuesday evening elected him as its new leader to succeed B S Yediyurappa. Bommai, a Lingayat leader from North Karnataka, is a close confidant of Yediyurappa and, according to party sources, there is an imprint of the veteran BJP leader in this succession plan. Son of former Chief Minister, late S R Bommai, he was Minister for Home Affairs, Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislature in Yediyurappa’s council of ministers which was dissolved on Monday.

 

It’s the second instance of a father-son duo becoming Chief Minister of Karnataka, after H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy. Yediyurappa, and Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy who were appointed as central observers by BJP’s parliamentary board for the legislature party meet, party’s national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh, state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and a host of others attended the swearing-in. Bommai, who alone took oath on Wednesday, said he will try and expand the Cabinet soon. “I had met Central observers Dharmendra Pradhan, Kishan Reddy and General Secretary Singh, they said let’s not discuss it today, once they go back to Delhi let’s see,” he said in response to a question by reporters on expanding the cabinet.

 

Asked whether he will wait for ‘Ashada’ month (considered inauspicious) to get over for undertaking the expansion, he said, “nothing like that, we will do it at the earliest, won’t take too much time because I need a complete team to do the work as there is COVID and floods.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Bommai on taking oath, and said he brings with him rich legislative and administrative experience. In his tweets, Modi also lauded Bommai’s predecessor B S Yediyurappa, saying no words will ever do justice to his “monumental contribution” to the BJP and growth of its members.