Passez à l'illimité avec Magzter GOLD

Passez à l'illimité avec Magzter GOLD

Obtenez un accès illimité à plus de 9 000 magazines, journaux et articles Premium pour seulement

$149.99
 
$74.99/Année

Essayer OR - Gratuit

A YEDI-MADE FORMULA

India Today

|

August 09, 2021

The BJP picks Yediyurappa loyalist Basavaraj Bommai as its new Karnataka chief minister with an eye on the 2023 state election and the crucial Lingayat vote

- ARAVIND GOWDA

A YEDI-MADE FORMULA

Even in his much-anticipated political bow-out, Karnataka BJP strongman B.S. Yediyurappa appears to have had the last laugh. The selection of his loyalist, 61-year old Basavaraj S. Bommai, as the new chief minister on July 27 indicates that, even in ‘retirement’, Yediyurappa will continue to call the shots in the state and the party’s central leadership can ill-afford to ignore him. As the tallest BJP leader among the Lingayats, Karnataka’s largest community with a 17 percent representation in the electorate, Yediyurappa remains crucial to the party’s bid to return to power in 2023.

The 78-year-old Yediyurappa is among the select few to have stretched the BJP’s unwritten rule of retiring its leaders at the age of 75. In more proof of Yediyurappa’s enduring clout, his successor, the soft-spoken and low-profile Bommai, was not even a chief ministerial contender at the start of the race. Soon after his appointment, Bommai profusely thanked his ‘guru’ in front of the media and said that he would seek his guidance on all crucial matters.

WHY BOMMAI?

Sources say the race for the chief minister’s post had narrowed down to Union parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi (a Brahmin) and the young Hubli-Dharwad West MLA Arvind Bellad (a Lingayat). The other Lingayat contenders were state ministers Murugesh Nirani and Umesh Katti. “It was Yediyurappa who placed Bommai ahead of them. The BJP had no option but to go with his choice. They will need Yediyurappa as the party’s mascot in the next assembly election,” says Bengaluru-based political historian A. Veerappa.

PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE India Today

India Today

India Today

A LARGE HEART FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE

Narayana Health is revolutionising affordable cardiac care across the country with low-cost insurance plans

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

THE MENTAL HEALTH COLLECTIVE

As India's mental health needs surge, a new alliance is highlighting that coordination, and not launching more isolated programmes, is the missing link

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

INDIA'S WAR ON TB A NEW, SHORTER-TERM CURE

Mumbai's tuberculosis programme has reported an encouraging milestone: 89 patients, from the over 1,000 with drug-resistant TB (DRTB) placed on a new six-month treatment regimen, have been declared cured. For a disease where treatment once stretched to two years, this marks a potentially transformative shift.

time to read

1 min

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

SOWING THE SEEDS OF SUSTENANCE

Through decades of grassroots work, the Koppulas have translated ecological principles into livelihood security for thousands of marginal and tribal farmers

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

SAVING DYING BREEDS

The Bikaner branch of the National Research Centre on Equines is researching surrogacy to improve the health of horse breeds, has developed technology to track ancestry and disease risks, and has even made their work commercial

time to read

1 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

WOMAN POWER TO THE FORE

As SeSTA spurs development in the Northeast, it draws ever closer to its goals: eliminating poverty, empowering women, and ensuring good health and climate change resilient villages

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

REDUCING THE DISEASE BURDEN

AI diagnostics, clinical decisions, disease surveillance—IHF is backing tech start-ups to reimagine public healthcare around India's lived realities

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

HELPING HAND IN THE HILLS

Bethany Society's work with physically and mentally challenged children in Meghalaya has transformed many lives

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

NURU KARIM: Where Architecture Learns To Listen

From the bamboo-orchid terminal at Guwahati airport to projects across continents, the Mumbai-based architect explores how infrastructure can carry memory, identity, care and cultural meaning across diverse landscapes

time to read

4 mins

February 02, 2026

India Today

India Today

SAVIOUR OF OUR RICE DIVERSITY

Basudha's yeoman service in preserving traditional rice varieties has not just preserved forgotten seeds but also created a grassroots network of biodiversity custodians

time to read

2 mins

February 02, 2026

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size