A life in public institutions, from city ward to Union Government.

01Profile

Shri V. Somanna, whose full name appears in official Ministry of Jal Shakti material as Veeranna Somanna, is a Member of the 18th Lok Sabha from the Tumkur parliamentary constituency in Karnataka. Since June 2024 he has served in the Union Council of Ministers as Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways and Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Before entering Parliament, his public career was based almost entirely in Karnataka, and chiefly in Bengaluru. He was elected to the Bengaluru City Corporation in 1983. He won five elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, served two terms in the Karnataka Legislative Council, and held ministerial office in several Karnataka governments between 1996 and 2023.

This profile is built from official records: his Digital Sansad member profile, the Ministry of Jal Shakti (Brahmaputra Board) profile of the Minister of State, notifications of the President’s Secretariat and the Cabinet Secretariat, and Election Commission of India results. Where a detail rests on a secondary source, the text says so.

02Personal background

According to his Digital Sansad profile, V. Somanna was born on 20 July 1951 at Doddamaralavadi, Ramanagara, in present-day Karnataka. His father was the late Veeranna and his mother the late Kempamma. The initial “V.” in his name stands for his father’s name, Veeranna, in keeping with a common Karnataka naming convention.

Date of birth

20 July 1951

Place of birth

Doddamaralavadi, Ramanagara, Karnataka

Father

Late Veeranna

Mother

Late Kempamma

Spouse

Smt. Shylaja (married 25 May 1977)

Home base

Vijayanagar, Bengaluru

Ramanagara district was carved out of Bengaluru Rural district on 23 August 2007 and was renamed Bengaluru South district on 23 May 2025, with Ramanagara remaining its headquarters. Census village directories place Doddamaralavadi in the Kanakapura area of the district. The Early Life page gives more geographical context.

03Education

His parliamentary profile lists his educational qualification as B.A. (graduate). The official record does not name the institution or the year of graduation, so this profile does not state them.

04Professional background

The Digital Sansad profile gives his profession as Agriculturist, with Social Activist as a second profession. The same profile records that he is a founder trustee of two education trusts, the V.S.S. Education Trust and the Jnanamitra Education Trust.

The profile also records, in his own submitted biographical notes, that he organised events connected with the Siddaganga Mutt and the anniversary observances of Dr. Shivakumara Swamiji, and that he took part in the padayatra led by Chandra Shekhar. It lists recognitions including the “Jagadguru Renukacharya”, “Shri T. R. Shamanna” and “Aniketana” awards. These are self-declared entries in the parliamentary record and are reported here as such.

05Public life

His elected public life began in local government. The parliamentary profile records that he was elected to the Bengaluru City Corporation from the Vijayanagar division in 1983 and re-elected from the same division in 1988. Vijayanagar, in west Bengaluru, has remained his home base.

From a city corporation ward in 1983 to the Union Council of Ministers in 2024: about four decades of elected public office.Derived from the Digital Sansad profile and the President’s Secretariat communiqué of 9 June 2024

Over this period his party affiliation changed. Contemporary election records and reporting show that he contested:

• 1994 as a Janata Dal candidate;
• 1999 as an independent;
• 2004 and 2008 as a Congress candidate;
• every election since 2009 as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate.

The detailed chronology is on the Political Journey page.

06Legislative experience

Karnataka Legislative Assembly

He first entered the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1994 from Binnipet (also spelt Binnypet), a Bengaluru city constituency, and was re-elected from there in 1999 and 2004. In 2008, after delimitation, he was elected from Govindarajanagar, and he won Govindarajanagar again in 2018. His parliamentary profile counts these as five terms in the Assembly.

Karnataka Legislative Council

He was a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council for two terms. The Ministry of Jal Shakti profile records the dates as 15 June 2010 to 14 June 2016 and 15 June 2016 to 16 May 2018.

Assembly election, 2023

In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election he contested two constituencies, Varuna and Chamarajanagar, and lost both, according to Election Commission of India results.

07Ministerial experience

He has held ministerial office in Karnataka in three distinct periods. The Ministry of Jal Shakti profile and his parliamentary profile record them as follows:

1996 – 1999

Minister, Government of Karnataka. Prisons, Home Guards and Sainik Welfare, with responsibilities relating to Bengaluru city.

2009 – 2013

Minister, Government of Karnataka. Portfolios recorded include Food and Civil Supplies, Housing, and Muzrai (religious endowments).

2019 – 2023

Cabinet Minister, Government of Karnataka. Housing, Infrastructure Development, Horticulture and Sericulture.

Portfolios in Karnataka changed between cabinet reshuffles, so the exact dates of individual portfolios are not stated here unless an official record gives them.

08Parliamentary service

In the 2024 general election he was elected to the 18th Lok Sabha from Tumkur (PC-19), Karnataka, as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. Election Commission of India results record 720,946 votes (55.31%) for him and a margin of 175,594 votes over the runner-up. This is his first term in Parliament.

As a Minister of State he has given written replies in both Houses on Jal Shakti subjects, including the Jal Jeevan Mission. On the railways side, his documented parliamentary business includes laying Ministry of Railways papers on the Table of the Rajya Sabha. The Railways answers reviewed for this site were given by the Cabinet Minister. The Parliamentary Work page documents each item with its date, House and source.

09Current responsibilities

He was sworn in as a Minister of State on 9 June 2024. The President’s Secretariat communiqué of 10 June 2024 allocated him the portfolios of Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways. He assumed charge at Rail Bhawan on 11 June 2024 and at the Ministry of Jal Shakti on 12 June 2024. The Cabinet Secretariat’s list of the Council of Ministers dated 23 June 2026 continues to show both portfolios.

In both ministries the Cabinet Minister leads, and Ministers of State assist. Ministry-wide policies and programmes are therefore not attributed to him personally on this website. Only activities in which official records name him are presented as his work. See Railways and Jal Shakti.