Overview
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 currently a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and was previously a member of the Janata Dal and 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. Between 1998 and 2008, he was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council from Dharwad local authorities. 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.
Personal life
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.
Early political career
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).