Basavaraj Horatti wins Karnataka MLC polls for record eighth time

Basavaraj Horatti, the BJP candidate in the election to Legislative Council from Karnataka West teachers' constituency, emerged victorious for the record eighth time on Wednesday.

The counting of votes for the election was held in the premises of Jyoti College. Horatti reached the quota required for getting elected among the valid votes by getting the necessary first preference votes in his favour.

Horatti garnered 9,266 first preferential votes, while Congress candidate Basavaraj Gurikar polled 4,597 votes, and JD(S) candidate S N Gidadinni got just 273 votes.

A total of 15,583 votes were polled of which 1,223 votes were rejected and 14,360 votes were declared valid.

Horatti thanked the voters from the teachers' constituency for reposing faith in him and ensuring his straight eighth win for the upper house of the state legislature.

He said that in the previous election too, he had won comfortably as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate and this time, as a BJP candidate. "It's for the party to decide the position to be given to me," he said.

Regarding a notice being issued to him for using the national emblem in the campaign book, he said he would give a reply to the notice.

Horatti said he has been responding to the problems of the education sector. "The problems of the Education Department cannot be resolved fully even if God comes. I have submitted a report to the government regarding the measures to be taken for different problems, but as chairman, I could not fight for it and necessary directions were given to the government. As a member of the house, I shall raise my voice," he said.

Regarding his record win, he said that T N Narasimhamurthy had earlier been elected to both Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council and he (Horatti) has been elected to the council for the eighth consecutive time.