BJP rebel loses Legislative Council polls in South West Teachers constituency

BJP rebel loses Legislative Council polls in South West Teachers constituency

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 7, 2024: The BJP rebel candidate S.R. Harish Acharya from Mangaluru who contested the Legislative Council elections from South West Teachers’ constituency has lost.

Mr. Acharya, a former member of the Syndicate of Mangalore University, was third in the results announced by the Mysuru Regional Commissioner who was the Election Officer, on Thursday.

There were eight candidates in the fray and Mr. Acharya bagged 2,101 votes.

As per a pre-poll alliance between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the BJP, the saffron party had left the constituency to its partner. Accordingly the Janata Dal (Secular) fielded S.L. Bhoje Gowda, MLC, as the combine candidate, who won the polls by securing 9,829 votes. Mr. Gowda defeated his nearest rival K.K. Manjunath Kumar of the Congress by 5,267 votes. Mr. Kumar bagged 4,562 votes.

Of the 19,479 votes cast, 821 were rejected. Thus there were 18,658 valid votes.

Mr. Gowda as the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate defeated the BJP’s candidate Captain Ganesh Karnik in the last Council elections six years ago in the same constituency.

Meanwhile, Mr. Acharya said in a statement on Thursday that he respected the verdict of voters. “I faced the election on the plank of solutions to issues faced by teachers and the education sector without the backing of any political party,” he said.

Mr. Acharya said that he will continue to raise concerns of teachers on appropriate platforms.

The candidate went on record at a press conference ahead of elections in Mangaluru last month that if he got elected he will move a private member’s Bill in the Council for enacting a law to regulate the recruitment and service conditions of teachers. The law should be on the lines of the Karnataka State Civil Services Act, 1978. There is a need to enact a separate law to protect the interests of teachers, including their appointment and service conditions, he said.

Courtesy: The Hindu