'I Swept Bus Stop When Workers Didn't Turn Up': Newly Inducted Karnataka Minister K S Basavantappa
Born to civic workers, Basavantappa, dropped out of college after PUC due to poverty and took up odd jobs to support his family.
By Anil Gejji
Published : August 5, 2026 at 4:59 PM IST
Bengaluru: K S Basavantappa maintained public toilets at bus stands, parking lots of hospitals and offices as a boy, and after joining Congress, his task was to paste party posters on walls.
Induction of first-time Congress MLA from SC-reserved Mayakonda constituency in Davanagere district into D K Shivakumar cabinet on Monday has hit the headlines not for his berth but because his journey speaks more of hard work, struggle and perseverance.
Born to pourakarmikas (civic sanitation workers) Santappa Pailwan and Hanumakka, Basavantappa hails from the extremely backward Scheduled Caste Madiga community. He faced several hardships while growing up, forcing him to take up odd jobs to support his family. Owing to poverty, he dropped out of college after PUC (class 12).
Soon he secured contracts to maintain public toilets at the Davanagere bus terminal, housekeeping services at the Chigateri Government Hospital and parking lots at many public places to earn a livelihood.
"Till 2005, I used to sit at the bus terminal overseeing cleanliness works. There were instances when I myself swept the bus stop when workers did not show up on time," Basavantappa said without hesitation about his past work.
108 Basavantappa
Despite struggling to support his family, Basavantappa helped hundreds of people during emergencies like accidents and natural disasters. Call him anytime, and he will be the first person to reach accident spots to transport the injured to nearby hospitals. People fondly call him '108 Basavantappa,' likening him to the '108 Ambulance' service launched by the state government to ensure speedy medical help to accident victims. "He must have transported more than 300 injured in the last one decade," said Nagaraj, a local journalist.
Basavantappa also helps mortuary staff conduct post-mortems by cleaning and assisting in cutting open bodies. "There was one Bharat Saw Mill in Davanagere. A few years ago, the owner and around 10 members of his family drowned in a canal. When all bodies were brought to the government hospital for post-mortem, only two staff members were present. Realising it would take them a long time to complete the process, I rushed to help by cleaning the bodies with water. Since then, I have been involved in it," said Basavantappa.
In early 1990, he joined the Congress following the footsteps of his uncle and former Minister H Anjaneya. During his early days, he pasted posters of the party leaders all across the city and arranged chairs for party's conventions.
His life took a turn in 2014 when he got the Congress ticket to contest the Zilla Panchayat elections. His sober and gentle demeanour soon made him popular among the people and party workers. He contested the 2018 Assembly elections from Mayakonda but lost by a narrow margin of 2,000 votes. But in 2023, he won by a margin of 36,000 votes, the highest for any MLA from Davanagere district.
Three years into the Assembly, he is now a minister. "It was completely unexpected. I had not even dreamt of becoming a Minister," he said.
"I think Rahul Gandhi is the sole reason behind my Cabinet berth because he has been strongly advocating for equal representation for all sections of society," Basavantappa added.
Basavantappa's Elevation, A Well-Thought-Out Move
Basavantappa's elevation seems to be a well-thought-out move. Since the Central Karnataka region, comprising Chitradurga, Davanagere, Vijayanagara and Haveri districts, has a sizeable Madiga population, the Congress wants to cash in on it in the 2028 Assembly elections by rewarding Basavantappa, the region's lone Congress MLA from the community, with a cabinet berth.
Over the past few years, the community has aligned with the BJP owing to the dominance of SC Right leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, in the state Congress. Now that the government has fulfilled the long-standing demand of Madigas for an internal reservation, the Congress is hoping for a shift in their loyalty.
"I am fully aware of my responsibility and will ensure that the community stays with the Congress through my work," Basavantappa said while thanking all state leaders for backing him.
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