Bengaluru: Having lost the Rajya Sabha polls, the Janata Dal (S) is trying to salvage its pride by winning the elections to the Legislative Council from the graduates and teachers constituencies for which voting was held last week. The counting of votes will take place on Monday.
The JDS is sure of its victory in two of the four constituencies which went to polls. The party is optimistic of winning North West Teachers constituency represented by former minister Basavaraj Horatti who is all set to register his name in the Guinness book of records by winning for a seventh time. In this constituency, the individual charisma of the candidate matters more than the party.
Going by this yardstick, Mr Horatti may not find it difficult to reserve his berth in the Council because of the rapport he enjoys with the teacher community in that part of Karnataka.
Both BJP and Congress are aware of this and have not taken the outcome of the poll seriously. Another segment where JD(S) can expect victory is South Graduates constituency held by BJP.
The JD(S) candidate, K.T. Srikantegowda is an old warhorse who has understood the pulse of voters. In fact, there was opposition from Nagamangala MLA Cheluvarayaswamy to giving ticket to Mr Srikantegowda. But JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda did not succumb to pressure and gave ticket to Mr Srikantegowda.
With hardly 44 per cent voting in Mysuru district, sources hinted at an edge for Mr Srikantegowda this time. Compared to the 2010 polls, the voting percentage had dipped by almost 10 per cent in a constituency which is considered a fortress of the BJP as far as graduates and teachers are concerned.
The Congress has never won the Graduates seat in the last three decades. This time, the imposition of the candidate reportedly at the behest of Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar has upset the rank and file of the party and may impact its candidate, Dr Ravindra.
The Congress has chances of retaining the North West Graduates seat as sitting member, Mahantesh Koujalgi has a clean image. The BJP may win North East Teachers constituency where sitting MLC Arun Shahpur is seeking re-election.
HD Kumaraswamy in bulgaria shooting ‘Jaguar’
A day after the ignominious defeat of JD(S) candidate B.M. Farookh in the Rajya Sabha poll, party’s state unit chief H.D. Kumaraswamy left for Bulgaria for the second round of shooting of his son's debut Kannada film, 'Jaguar'.
Mr Kumaraswamy, along with son, Nikhil Gowda, hero of the movie, left Bengaluru early Sunday. He skipped the party convention at Palace Grounds where the suspension of eight rebel JD(S) legislators was announced. He had cited personal reasons for keeping away from the crucial meeting.
He was supposed to leave for Bulgaria last month if everything had gone well in the Council and Rajya Sabha polls. The rebellion within the party necessitated his presence to keep the flock together though it proved unsuccessful. He had been to Sofia city and Iceland for the selection of locations to shoot two song sequences in Iceland and a chasing scene in Sofia.
