Will Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai step down to pave the way for another change of leadership in Karnataka soon? While speculations over a change of guard by the opposition party leaders and disgruntled BJP men is nothing new, Bommai’s recent speech at his constituency Shiggavi, where he turned both emotional and pensive, has raised suspicion over his tenure as the CM.
On December 19, Bommai while addressing a public gathering said, “Nothing is permanent. And life, too, is not permanent as no one knows how long one would love. In such a scenario, no post or position is permanent. I live with that awareness every moment. Today, I became the CM with all your blessings. I might be a chief minister but when I am here (Shiggavi) I am only Basavaraj Bommai to you. No prefixes to my name are permanent.
“I feel indebted to the people of this constituency. All of you have supported me. You people have fed me rotis and rice whenever I came down. I will never forget it. I cannot repay that debt ever. I only hope to retain your trust in me. I try not to turn emotional. But emotions flow when I look at you all,” said the three-time MLA.
The statement of Industries minister Murugesh Nirani, who was sharing the dais with Bommai at the event led to further speculations over the CM stepping down sooner than later. “When I came here in 2018 for election campaign to seek your votes for Bommai, I had said you are not voting to choose an MLA but the future CM. My words have come true. Today again, I would like to say, Bommai will complete his term as the CM and sooner if not later will become a central cabinet minister like his father (late SR Bommai),” said Nirani.
Last month, senior BJP leader and RDPR minister K.S. Eshwarappa, who was sharing the dais with Nirani had declared that Nirani would become the chief minister soon. “Nirani will become the chief minister soon. He has the capabilities to be one. I would like to ask him if he would work for the betterment of the backward classes,” Eshwarappa had said at a public event triggering fresh controversy.
BJP MLA from Vijayapura Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who had been predicting Yediyurappa’s exit has once again hinted that political situation in the state and the BJP would change post Sankranti festival. “There is a clear indication that there will be a total overhaul of the state cabinet on the lines of Gujarat. However, this cabinet reshuffle might not include change of the CM,” Yatnal claimed.
Within five months after being sworn in as the chief minister, Bommai has had to battle several challenges – from an ongoing pandemic, financial crunch, slow-paced development in the state to electoral debacles in the Hanagal bypolls, the CM’s hometurf and a shocking defeat of the official BJP candidate in Belagavi in the crucial MLC polls. The electoral defeats have raised questions over Bommai’s ability to emerge as a popular leader who can keep the support of the powerful Lingayat community intact just like Yediyurappa. However, what has turned the tide against Bommai seems to be the alleged Bitcoin scam, which was unearthed during Bommai’s term as the home minister. More recently, the allegations of “40 per cent commission” (bribe) against the state government by the Karnataka Contractors’ Association, rattled the BJP government as the association wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to curb corruption in the state. The allegation came as a major embarrassment to the BJP as Modi, while campaigning for 2018 elections in the state had accused the then Siddaramaiah government as “10 per cent sarkar”.
Last July, when Bommai was chosen as the successor to Lingayat strongman Yediyurappa among the many top contenders, the move had taken many by surprise. But Union Home Minister Amit Shah declaring that the state BJP would go to polls in 2023 under Bommai’s leadership had caused heartburn to old-timers in the party, who began to chant that the party believed only in “collective leadership”.
According to sources, Bommai could be replaced citing health issue - his knee problems. The chief minister who is often spotted limping could well be preparing to go abroad for treatment. The change of guard would happen before the CM goes on the sabbatical, claim party insiders.
With the state due for polls in the next 16 months, the saffron party appears to be in a hurry to infuse new energy into the party and is hoping to divide the responsibilities and bring in new faces in the government to fight both anti-incumbency and inefficiency. With state party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel’s term coming to an end, the party leadership scouting for a war-time chief cannot be ruled out either.
