Sweeping streets to becoming Karnataka minister: the rise of K S Basavanthappa

Born on July 20, 1969, Basavanthappa is a first-time MLA from Mayakonda, an SC-reserved constituency in Davanagere district. His friends recalled hardships Basavanthappa had faced and various occupations he had to earn a livelihood.

Several small jobs after dropping out of college

After dropping out of college after first PUC, the minister worked several small jobs.

“Apart from working on his parents’ behalf when they were unwell, Basavanthappa was a ticket checker. He used to check tickets at one of the three theatres—Gitanjali, Pushpanjali, and Padmanjali—located close to one another in Davanagere city,” Ningappa, who has been associated with the minister for close to two decades, told indianexpress.com.

After this, he briefly worked at the Davanagere government hospital’s mortuary. Later, he started bidding for government contracts to clean toilets at the city’s KSRTC bus stand, government offices, and hospitals, he said.

Another close friend of the minister, seeking anonymity, said Basavanthappa’s political growth was influenced by former minister H Anjaneya, who is also a relative.

“Basavanthappa was involved in campaigning for Anjaneya for several years. Slowly, he grew in the political field and was elected a member of zilla panchayat in 2016 from Hanagodu in Davanagere district,” he said.

‘Ambulance Basavanthappa’

He also recalled how Basavanthappa helped patients arriving at the district hospital during the pandemic. “The work he did during the Covid pandemic endeared him to the people of the district and earned him the nickname Ambulance Basavanthappa,” he said.

His popularity ensured a comfortable win in the 2023 Assembly polls, where Basavanthappa polled almost twice as many votes as his nearest rival. In 2018, he lost by 6,458 votes.

His wife Mamata said they live in a rented accommodation. “He is more focused on serving people,” he said, adding that her in-laws would have been proud if they were alive. His son Suhas is a commerce graduate, while his daughter Sanjana is pursuing MBBS.

When contacted, Basavanthappa said, “I entered politics around three decades ago in my late twenties. It was Anjaneya who wanted me to be active in politics.”

His initial days in politics involved putting up banners, arranging chairs at rallies, and other tasks assigned to ground-level Congress workers.

He also recalled the services he rendered as the zilla panchayat president during the pandemic.

On whether he had expected a Cabinet berth, Basavanthappa said he had always wanted to be in the social service sector. “I became a zilla panchayat member and then an MLA. It shows that even ordinary workers are rewarded by the party,” he added.