Senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former minister Basavaraj Shivalingappa Horatti registered a historical victory in the biennial elections from the Karnataka West Teachers’ constituency to the Legislative Council by winning for the seventh consecutive time.
As the election campaign for Karnataka West Teachers’ Constituency neared its conclusion, Mr. Horatti's supporters and JD(S) leaders had appealed the teachers to help him create a record by getting him elected for the seventh consecutive term.
“This is a record in the electoral history where one person has been successfully elected seven times in a row to any Legislative Council,” Mr. Horatti claimed and attributed the feat to his voters, who have supported him since his first election in 1980 from the Karnataka Rajya Madhyamika Shala Shikshakara Sangha.
As far as the Karnataka Legislative Council is concerned, BJP’s Ramachandra Gowda stands next to Mr. Horatti in the number of successive wins of five victories from Bengaluru Graduates’ Constituency.
Mr. Horatti polled a total of 7,480 votes and defeated his nearest rival M. Nagaraj of BJP by a victory margin of 3,109 votes. Prof. Nagaraj polled 4,371 votes. Congress candidate T. Ishwar secured 1,352 votes, while independent candidate R.M. Kuberappa polled 883 votes. The remaining four other contestants polled only eleven or less.
The counting of ballot papers was taken up at the Jyoti College premises here on Monday and the results were declared on the basis of first preference votes. Mr. Horatti reached the required quota of votes in the third and final round of counting.
Of the 14,939 votes polled out of 22,388 votes in the constituency spread over Uttar Kannada, Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag, 784 were rejected and 43 voters exercised the None Of The Above (NOTA) option.
Later, Mr. Horatti alleged the BJP of engaging in unethical methods to lure voters. He also alleged that BJP had even threatened over 1,000 voters in the constituency, who did not cast their vote.
He added that he would make best use the seventh opportunity given to him aimed at development of North Karnataka region. Mr. Horatti’s victory is significant for JD(S) too as he is among the few influential leaders of the party in the North Karnataka region.
