A dozen Ministers who held prominent portfolios have lost their seats in the Karnataka Assembly, brought down by the anti-BJP wave that swept through the State in this election.
Including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, 26 Ministers contested the election. In a debacle that has shocked their party, as many as 12 of them — including veteran Dalit leader and Major Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol, who had earlier worked as Deputy Chief Minister — have lost.
ST face suffers loss
The BJP’s Adivasi icon and Transport Minister B. Sriramulu, who was a vote puller in Scheduled Tribe (ST) constituencies, has also lost this time. This has come as a shock for the BJP which was trying to woo the ST and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities by increasing reservations for them.
The party is also finding it difficult to digest the defeat of sugar baron and Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, who was a strong aspirant for the Chief Ministerial post. Mr. Nirani belongs to the dominant Lingayat community and the influential sub-sect of Panchamashali. But the fact that he has lost in the Lingayat heartland (Bilagi in Bagalkot district) that forms the main support base of the BJP will force the party’s think tank to introspect about its strategies.
Two defeats in one go
Another Lingayat Minister who lost was Housing Minister V. Somanna, who had been pitted against Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah in the Varuna constituency of Mysuru district. He lost both in Varuna and Chamarajanagar, which was considered to be a safe bet for him as he had also served as the Minister in-charge of the Chamarajanagar district.
Others from the Lingayat community — Law Minister J. C. Madhuswamy, who used to aggressively defend the party from the Opposition onslaught in the legislature; Agriculture Minister B. C. Patil; and Sugar Minister Shankar Patil Munenakoppa — also suffered losses.
Revenue Minister and Vokkaliga leader R. Ashok who had been pitted against Congress State president D.K. Shivakumar in Kanakapura, lost miserably there as the Congress leader won by a huge lead of over one lakh votes. However, Mr. Ashok has managed to win comfortably from his home constituency of Padmanabhanagar.
Health, Education Ministers lose
Other Ministers who lost include: Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar, who was the government’s face during the COVID-19 pandemic times; Primary and Secondary Education Minister B. C. Nagesh, who had started revising the State’s school textbooks; Mining Minister Halappa Basappa Achar; and Sports Minister K. C. Narayana Gowda, who was the party’s lone face in the Vokkaliga heartland of Mandya.
Also read | Lessons from Karnataka: for the Congress, the BJP and the rest
In addition to this, senior BJP leader and Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, who is a six-time MLA, faced defeat, while the Chief Minister’s political secretary M.P. Renukacharya has also bitten the dust.
Siddarth Singh, son of Tourism Minister Anand Singh, who had replaced his father in the poll contest from Hospet, has lost his debut poll battle. Four other Ministers, including two in Bengaluru, scraped through by narrow margins.
