JOIN USLingayat tally goes up
He was sworn in as minister in the Yeddyurappa cabinet amidst hundreds of his supporters and ministers at the Glass House in Raj Bhavan. Later in the day he was allotted portfolio of Muzrai and Housing, held by Krishnaiah Setty. He will assume of the office on Friday.
Somanna took oath in the name of Siddaganga mutt seer Dr Shivakumar Swamiji. Governor Rameshwar Thakur administered oath of office and secrecy. Krishnaiah Setty, however, remained absent at the induction.
Hundreds of his supporters from Vijayanagar, Govindarajanagar, Chamarajangar and Tumkur witnessed the function. Somanna, the four-time MLA, joined the BJP during the recent Lok Sabha elections after resigning as Congress MLA from Govindarajanagar.
Somanna is the eighth one from Bangalore City to find a place in the Yeddyurappa cabinet.
Moreover, with his induction into the cabinet the tally of Lingayat ministers has gone up to eight in the 34-member cabinet.
With the resignation of Setty, the Arya-Vyshya community lost representation in the Cabinet besides Kolar district has lost representation as he was the only MLA from the Kolar to get a cabinet berth.
The BJP decided to include Somanna in the cabinet in view of the coming BBMP elections. Somanna, who served as a corporator of Bangalore Mahanagar Palike, enjoys considerable clout in the city.
Somanna thanked Setty for paving way for him to become minister. “He is my good friend and a senior BJP leader of the BJP. We all work together for betterment of the state”, he said.
Speaking to reporters, Somanna said “Nothing is permanent in politics. Career graph of politicians keeps changing. Today he may have lost the berth, but he has bright future.”
Replying to a question, he said he would contest for the by-election to Govindarajanagar and expressed his confidence of winning the by-poll no matter whom the Opposition parties field against him.
‘Development, my goal’
Somanna said his first goal was to work with the CM for over-all development of Bangalore City.
Krishanaiah Setty, who had to quit to accommodate Somanna, was not present at Rajbhavan. Other prominent leaders who skipped the programme include ministers Karunkara Reddy, Shobha Karandlaje and BJP state president D V Sadananda Gowda.
Legislative Council chairman Veeranna Mathikatti attended, while his counterpart in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadeesh Shettar, did not make it.
None of the leaders of Opposition leaders, except Congress MLA Haris, attended the ceremony. Somanna’s family members were also present.
On personal invitation by Somanna, Ministers Janardhana Reddy and B Sreeramulu made it a point to be at Raj Bhavan and congratulate him.
Career
*1983 - Elected to Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
* 1994 - MLA from Binnypet
* 1996 - Minister for Prisons
* 1999 - Minister for Bangalore Urban Development
* 1999 - Elected from Binnypet as an Independent
* 2004 - Elected for a third time on Cong ticket
* 2008 - Elected from Govindarajanagar on Cong ticket