Bommai’s classmates recall his simplicity, hope he will do good work

“Basanna means friendship. Despite his rise to high positions in politics, he is still the same Basu or Basanna for his childhood friends,” recalled several of Chief Minister Basavaj Bommai’s classmat

“Basanna means friendship. Despite his rise to high positions in politics, he is still the same Basu or Basanna for his childhood friends,” recalled several of Chief Minister Basavaj Bommai’s classmates in Hubballi on Wednesday. Basavaj Bommai’s friends and classmates Rajanikanth Mahajan, Meghasham Ladhad, Murugesh Bendigeri, Ashwin Shangvi, Gautam Burat, Pankaj Thakkar, Raja Desai and Mahendra Singhi assembled at their school, Rotary English Medium School in Hubballi, on Wednesday to celebrate their classmate’s elevation to the Chief Minister’s post. Recalling playing gunda (or goli gundu), a traditional game played with marble or small glass balls, in which Bommai was an expert, his classmate Ashwin Shangvi remembered how Basu used to win all the time and he would lose. “He would win all my marbles and would return none even if I pleaded. But he is gem of a friend. For him, politics is not a profession but a service to people. I am confident that he will win the hearts of all by his good work,” Ashwin Shangvi said.