BS Yediyurappa resigns: Look at frontrunners for next Karnataka CM

BS Yediyurappa announced his resignation today (July 26) on the completion of his two-year tenure as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He will tender his resignation to Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot this afternoon. But we still do not know who will succeed him. Many names are popping up as front-runners to replace him. 

Replacing the Lingayat strongman is going to be a task for the BJP but it also means that they will now have to beyond and above in other communities to bag the vote bank in Karnataka. Some of the current front-runners may come from Lingayat, Vokkaliga and Brahmin communities. 

Here are some leading candidates for Karnataka CM: 

Murugesh Nirani - Minister for Mines and Geology, Karnataka

Murugesh Nirani is a leading contender for the CM of Karnataka because he is from the Panchamshali sect, the largest in the Lingayat community. He is the state minister of mines and geology. 

He is a three-time MLA from the Bilgi constituency. He runs sugar and ethanol factories in the north Karnataka region. He is known to be close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which might help him in the future. 

Arvind Bellad - Karnataka MLA from Hubli-Dharwad, West

He is the son of veteran RSS and BJP leader Chandrakant Bellad and has a strong academic background with an engineering degree from SDM College of Engineering in Dharwad and a PGDM in business management from INSEAD in France. 

Just like Murugesh Nirani, he also comes from the Panchamasali Lingayat sect. Bellad, 51, has been a two-time MLA From Hubli-Dharwad. 

Basavaraj Bommai - Home Minister, Karnataka 

Basavaraj Bommai, 61, started his political career with the Janata Dal and worked with senior leaders including HD Devegowda and Ramakrishna Hegde before he joined the BJP in 2008.

He is also a close aide of BS Yediyurappa. Bommai, who also belongs from the Lingayat community, is the son of former chief minister SR Bommai and was considered the most likely one to replace Yediyurappa a few months back.

CN Ashwath Narayan - Deputy Chief Minister, Karnataka 

The Deputy Chief Minister comes from the Vokkaliga community. He is a doctor by qualification and is observed as a young educated leader. 

Narayan, an MLA from Malleshwaram Bengaluru since 2008, was made deputy CM in the present cabinet reportedly after his successful involvement in the alleged poaching of MLAs from Congress and JD(S) to form the government. 

CT Ravi - National General Secretary, BJP 

CT Ravi has been a four-time MLA from Chikkamagaluru and is a Hindutva hardliner. the 54-year-old leader belongs from the Vokkaliga community and has served as a cabinet minister in the Yediyurappa government and became the national general secretary of the party. 

Pralhad Joshi - Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs

Pralhad Joshi is a Brahmin who is also a four-time MP from Dharwad. The 58-year-old minister is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other national leaders of BJP and the RSS.
Prahlad Joshi can be the leading contender for Karnataka CM because after BS Yediyurappa left the party and formed the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) in 2013, it was Joshi who was seen as an able administrator and hence was retained in the central cabinet.