Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai made a successful debut in the Lok Sabha polls, securing the Haveri seat by defeating Congress candidate Anandswamy Gaddadevarmath with a margin of 43,513 votes. Bommai, who is currently an MLA from Shiggaon, was chosen to contest after sitting MP Shivakumar Udasi announced his retirement from electoral politics. Bommai garnered 7,05,538 votes while Gaddadevarmath received 6,62,025 votes.
Bommai focused his efforts on the Haveri constituency, hardly seen canvassing for party candidates in other segments despite being a key BJP campaigner. His rise in national politics comes after he took full responsibility for the BJP’s poor performance in the Karnataka Assembly elections held last year.
Bommai, who was backed by B S Yediyurappa to step in as chief minister in July 2021, struggled to counter the Congress’s corruption narrative during his tenure. The 64-year-old has a notable political lineage, with his father, S R Bommai, having served as Karnataka’s 11th chief minister in the late 1980s. Born on January 28, 1960, in Hubballi, Bommai graduated in Mechanical Engineering and worked at Tata Motors before becoming an industrial entrepreneur. He belongs to the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, a key vote base for the BJP.