Amid a high-profile battle among parties to win the fourth seat of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, the State is also witnessing an intense poll battle for the four seats of the Legislative Council from graduates and teachers constituencies.
The elections to the four seats of the Upper House, scheduled for June 13, have been necessitated as the term of Arun Shahpur, K.T. Srikante Gowda, and Hanumnath R. Nirani are coming to an end on July 4. The former Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, whose term also ends on July 4, has resigned since he joined the BJP.
Seeking a record eighth successive victory from the Karnataka West Teachers constituency is Mr. Horatti, who shifted from the Janata Dal (Secular) to the BJP just before the elections apparently in a bid to retain the post of the Council Chairman for which support of the BJP is necessary. He is pitted against his close associate Srishaila G. of the JD(S) and one-time supporter Basavaraj Gurikar of the Congress. The Karnataka Rajya Madhyamika Shikshaka Sangha, which has backed him since 1978 when he was first elected, continues to back him and despite murmurs in the BJP over his selection, the party machinery is backing him.
