‘Accidental CM? No, been at it for 20 years’

Defends Hangal loss, says candidate picked by Delhi leaders

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru (NT Exclusive): Chief Minister in waiting. An accidental chief minister. Basavaraja Bommai laughed off all of these tags with the kind of easy insouciance that is rarely seen in politicians who fiercely deflect barbs on their public persona.

“I have been in politics for over two decades. And yes, I did not become a politician overnight. I became an MLA in 2008 for the first time and have been representing the Shiggaon constituency ever since. So, no one can call me an accidental CM,” said the smiling Bommai on Saturday, admitting he has been inside the charmed circle for long enough.

“Forget the nineties. I had not thought I would become the CM even in the first six months of 2021. There were so many front runners but strangely, luck favoured me. And yes, I have been an MLA since 2008 and have held several portfolios,” the Chief Minister said in one of his first person- to-person interaction with the media since he took over as Karnataka’s chief minister.

In the course of a freewheeling chat, where he laughingly described News Trail as “not just a venture but an adventure,” Bommai who has dabbled in journalism, commended the publication for its ‘news with a difference ‘ approach.

He also said he would make good on his promise to restore the city, telling News Trail that h e planned to start touring the city to inspect work done on the city’s roads by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which had been put on hold due to unseasonal rains.

“I have told the BBMP Chief Commissioner to immediately take up pothole filling and fix all the bad stretches which have been affected by the unprecedented rains last week. The work has started since Friday in the Central Business District (CBD) and it will be extended all over the city in the coming days. I am monitoring the work daily. I want to assure the citizens of Bengaluru that the work on pothole filling will be speeded up from Monday. Our plan is to repair the broken roads as early as possible”, Bommai said.

Bommai said he would embark on the city rounds soon after the winter session at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi from Dec 13 to 24. Due to a series of meetings on the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, he has not been able to spend more time on monitoring the ongoing projects in Bengaluru City.

“I will go on the rounds of Bengaluru more often after December 24 and interact with the citizens to quickly fix their problems. More time will be spent on addressing the problems of Bengalureans”.

On the matter of losing the key seat of Hangal in the recent bypolls, the CM dismissed all talk of having been pulled up over the loss, explaining that it was the party that picked the candidate and not him.

“I was not taken to task by the high command for losing the Hangal by-polls last month. The candidate was picked by the Delhi leaders. In fact, the Haveri-Gadag MP Shivakumar Udasi was told to field his wife, Revathi from Hangal as the sympathy over the passing away of the former minister and sitting MLC, C.M.Udasi was seen as a factor that could help her to win. I had suggested her name but the high command gave the ticket to Shivaraj Sajjanar. That’s partly why our candidate lost. Even the Shivakumar couple backed out at the very last minute,” the chief minister said.

“In fact, we had held back the ‘B’ form to be given to Sajjanar for a day thinking that Revathi Shivakumar would reconsider her decision. But she didn’t. So, the blame of losing the Hangal seat is not on me”, he said.

Asked what it felt like to be in the Chief Minister’s hot seat, he laughed, saying: “It is neither hot nor cold but you must have the acumen to manage it. Experience teaches everyone and I have been learning new things daily in regard to the duties of a CM.”

On his long running plans to write a book titled ‘My experiment with lies’, he said “I have made a beginning and it has been progressing slowly. I am planning to pursue it after my retirement. In the last 15-20 years, there has been a lot of maturity, perspective, ideas and thinking. I need to put it in the form of a book.”

Asked about the target fixed by the BJP top brass for Legislative Council polls, he said: “No target. More seats…more happy. The high command will definitely feel happy if BJP manages to get a majority in the upper house. I am confident of securing at least 14 seats of the total 25 seats. No target has been set by our high command for the Council seats.”

The Chief Minister is headed on Monday to attend a meeting of all the BJP chief ministers at Varanasi