Basavaraj Bommai, the new chief minister of Karnataka

Basavaraj Bommai, the newly selected Chief Minister of Karnataka, on Tuesday said the state will have a pro-people and pro-poor people governance. Bommai was selected by the BJP to take over the reins of outgoing CM BS Yediyurappa in the state.

“I am going to meet the Governor now. BS Yediyurappa is our leader, he will always remain our leader and he will do the mentoring for the party and the workers,” Bommai told exclusively to CNN-News18.

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the “guidance” and told media, “Under the guidance of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, I will work for strengthening the party. I am now going to Raj Bhawan along with the central leadership. It will be a pro-people and pro-poor people governance.”‘

Meanwhile, Yediyurappa said, “We have unanimously elected Bommai as the Chief Minister. We are very happy. He will definitely work very hard.” Basavaraj Bommai is the son of former chief minister, the late S R Bommai. The 61-year-old leader was Minister for Home Affairs, Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislature in Yediyurappa’s council of ministers which was dissolved on Monday. The legislature party meeting to elect the new leader took place at a city hotel in the presence of Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy who were appointed as central observers by BJP’s parliamentary board. It was attended by BJP national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh, state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, national general secretary C T Ravi, among others.