Bengaluru : The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) legislature party has elected Basavaraj S Bommai as the new chief minister of Karnataka.

Just like the outgoing Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who resigned on Monday, the new chief minister is also from the politically influential Lingayat community.

Basavaraj Bommai belongs to the Sadara Lingayat community. He is a close confidant of BS Yediyurappa and hails from the ‘janata pariwar’. His father SR Bommai also served as Karnataka’s chief minister.

Basavaraj Bommai joined the BJP in 2008 and has risen in the party ranks since then.

In the past, he held the portfolio of water resources. He is an engineer by profession and started his career with the Tata group.

Basavaraj Bommai is a two-time MLC and three-time MLA from Shiggaon in Haveri district.