JOIN US'I’ll be back as CM,' says Bommai ahead of polls
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has declared that he will reprise his role as the state’s top executive if the BJP is voted back to power, the first such assertion that has raised eyebrows ahead of the Legislative Assembly election.
Bommai said this at an event in Mudhol earlier this week and that, too, in front of Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, a chief ministerial aspirant himself.
“In Bilagi (Nirani’s constituency), a many development projects, such as irrigation works, have been carried out. But Nirani hasn’t taken me there fearing I’d find out. Don’t worry. I’ll come back here as the chief minister,” Bommai said. A video of this programme was widely shared on social media.
This is a significant statement given that the BJP has not officially projected a chief ministerial face. In fact, the party has maintained that the election will be fought under collective leadership. However, Bommai’s assertion indicates his confidence that the BJP can retain power in the upcoming Assembly election. More so, it shows that he sees himself as a claimant on the CM’s chair.
Bommai’s confidence plausibly stems from findings of the BJP’s latest internal survey that puts the saffron party at around 100 seats, ahead of the Congress, making it a tight election.
Bommai got a shot in the arm when his predecessor and BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa supported his claim. “What’s wrong? He has done a good job. So, there’s nothing wrong if he says he wants to become CM again. I welcome it,” Yediyurappa said.
BJP Yuva Morcha national president Tejasvi Surya also backed Bommai for a second term. “People today are with BJP. In every Assembly constituency, there are 30,000-50,000 direct beneficiaries of BJP government schemes. So, definitely, BJP will return to power and Bommai’s statement is 100% correct,” Surya said. “BJP will return to power and Bommai will be the CM,” he repeated.
Housing Minister V Somanna at an event said he would pray for Bommai to become CM again.
Earlier this month, Bommai was named as head of the BJP’s election campaign committee.
The Congress described Bommai’s statement as a “catfight” and maintained that the BJP is losing. “The open catfight for spoils and insatiable lust of 40 Percent Sarkara! Alas Mr Bommai & Mr Nirani, 40 Percent Sarkara won’t even get 40 seats as people will relegate you to the dustbin of history,” AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet.