Bengaluru, June 9 : Karnataka's prominent Lingayat face, senior BJP leader V. Somanna, was on Sunday sworn in as the Union Minister of State under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Somanna, who won the Tumakuru Lok Sabha Constituency with a handsome margin of 1.75 lakh votes, took the oath in the name of the god.

His nearest rival, Congress candidate S.P. Muddahanume Gowda polled 5.45 lakh votes, whereas Somanna garnered 7.20 lakh votes.

It was a do-or-die election for Somanna as he had lost the Karnataka Assembly election for two seats in Chamarajanagar and Varuna, where he was pitted against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

After the defeat, 73-year-old Somanna failed to get the posts of state party President and Leader of the Opposition.

His rivalry with former CM B.S. Yediyurappa and his son, State President B.Y. Vijayendra had also worsened, and it was assumed that his political career had almost ended.

Somanna, however, managed to break the ice with the Yediyurappa family and also met former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, from whom he had distanced himself for a long time.

He managed to get a ticket for the Parliamentary election and emerged as a winner.

Somanna was earlier asked to vacate the Govindarajanagar assembly seat he represented to contest against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in 2019.

The party seems to have rewarded him with a Cabinet berth.

Somanna, a Lingayat leader, set a trend by breaking the caste barrier and emerging as a winner from the Binnypet and Govindarajanagar assembly seats dominated by Vokkaligas.

He has won the hearts of the people by ensuring development works in the constituencies he represented.

He started his career as a member of the Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike between 1983 and 1987.

He was elected as MLA from Binnypet on a Janata Dal ticket. He went on to become Minister for Prisons and Minister for Bengaluru Urban Development.

In 1999, Somanna was elected to the Karnataka legislature from Binnypet as an independent candidate.

He joined the Congress party and was elected as MLA in 2004.

Somanna was pulled to the BJP by former CM B.S. Yediyurappa in 2009. Somanna tendered his resignation to his MLA post then.

However, he lost the by-election but was made Minister for Sericulture.

Somanna refused to quit the BJP and go with Yediyurappa when he formed a new party.

He was the Minister for Housing and Infrastructure Development in the previous BJP government in Karnataka.

Somanna's elevation will consolidate the Lingayat votes for the BJP in the state. His supporters explain that, as he is known for his proactive role when given opportunities, he is likely to impress the party leadership with his performance.

/IANS