Karnataka Elections 2023: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday filed his nomination from his traditional seat of Shiggaon amid fanfare and a massive rally with BJP President JP Nadda and Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep. He was accompanied by the two as he filed his papers before the election returning officer. Bommai is seeking re-claim Shiggaon, from where he has been an MLA three times since 2008. Bommai visited temples and also held a massive roadshow along with Nadda and Sudeep in Shiggaon.
Hundreds of people and supporters gathered as Bommai, Nadda and Sudeep as they travelled through the streets in a specially-designed vehicle. Before this, they put garland over the statue of Kittur Rani Chennamma, who in 1824 led an armed resistance against the British East India Company.
They later addressed a public meeting, seeking votes for Bommai and the saffron party for the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls.
The 63-year-old CM, who is the son of former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Parivar veteran late S R Bommai, had already filed one set of nominations during an "auspicious muhurat" on April 15, reported PTI. He will face a direct challenge from Congress candidate Mohammed Yousuf Savanur, President of Anjuman-e-Islam in Hubballi-Dharwad.
In the 2018 assembly elections, Bommai had won from Shiggaon by 9,260 votes.
As per a report in PTI, the CM began his political career with the Janata Dal and was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council twice (in 1998 and 2004) from Dharwad local authorities constituency. He had also served as Parliament Secretary to the Chief Minister and as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Bommai quit the Janata Dal (United) and joined the BJP in 2008 and in the Assembly elections held later that year got elected as MLA from Shiggaon.
He then went on to retain the seat in the 2013 and 2018 Assembly polls.
Bommai, who served as Home Minister in the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government, became the Chief Minister in 2021 after the veteran leader stepped down from the post, the report added.
Karnataka elections are scheduled to take place on May 10 while the counting of votes will be done on May 13.