Strange are the ways of men and in politics, they are even more stranger. As campaigning for elections to Karnataka West Teachers’ Constituency picked up pace, the changed political equations have put the voters, the graduate teachers and the political party workers in a peculiar situation.
No doubt it is a high profile constituency with the former Chairman of the Legislative Council Basavraj Horatti seeking a record eighth term from the segment. But much water has flown down the bridge ever since Mr. Horatti got elected for the first time in 1980. And, he is now contesting as a candidate of the party against which he had spoken a lot in the last four decades.
The party, the BJP, too has undergone a change from being an organisation that had put all its might to prevent Mr. Horatti from getting elected for the seventh time in a row in 2016, to a party canvassing extensively to help him create a Guinness Record by winning for the eighth time in a row. Mr. Horatti’s secular credentials have gone for a toss with him joining the party which once he referred to as communal.
As Mr. Horatti appears to be fighting his last electoral battle, this shift is the focal point of the campaign by his opponents, particularly the Congress leaders who are trying to woo teachers from the minority communities.
In 2016, the saffron party unsuccessfully made all-out efforts to get Mr. Horatti defeated. Now, the Congress is doing what the BJP did the last time and the BJP is defending Mr. Horatti. Though the BJP’s high command has snubbed the voices of dissent in the party camp, they are likely to make a dent in Mr. Horatti’s armour.
Basavaraj Gurikar, who has long been a representative of primary school teachers in the State, is the Congress candidate this time. Mr. Horatti’s long-time foe R.M. Kuberappa, who contested unsuccessfully against Mr. Horatti twice as BJP candidate and once as BJP rebel candidate, is now firing salvos against his opponent from the Congress camp.
Interestingly, Mr. Gurikar himself had supported Mr. Horatti’s candidature earlier. The Congress camp is seeking a vote for change and questioning Mr. Horatti’s contribution, to which the veteran leader has hit back with a fact-sheet of his achievements.
Another headache for Mr. Horatti is his one-time aide-turned-foe Shrishail Gadadinni, Janata Dal(S) candidate. Like earlier, the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s campaign for the official candidate has been restricted to a few meetings.
The Congress, however, seems to be more organised this time and its leaders too seem to be a bit active. Already, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, the former Minister H.K. Patil, KPCC office-bearers Saleem Ahmed and Eshwar Khandre and others have addressed several campaign meetings.
But the strength of Mr. Horatti has been Karnataka Madhyamika Shikshaka Shikshaka Sangha, a teachers association, which has been backing him right through from his first election. Members of the association have been voluntarily canvassing for Mr. Horatti and this time, they are being assisted by BJP workers. Moreover, it has become a sort of prestige issue for the BJP too as it has taken Mr. Horatti into its field by ignoring some of its established norms pertaining to the age of its candidates.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, the former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and a whole bunch of BJP Ministers are in the field canvassing for Mr. Horatti.
However, with just around 18,000 voters, spread across four districts, there is going to be a tough fight for every vote of the teachers and it may turn out to be a keen contest if the Congress appeal for change of face makes an impact.
