BJP’s Shashil Namoshi scores landslide victory
Despite heavy campaigning by senior leaders and ministers, Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur suffered a defeat in the election.
CH NEWS, Kalaburagi BJP candidate Shashil G. Namoshi has secured a decisive victory in the Karnataka Legislative Council election from the North-East Teachers’ Constituency, retaining the seat and delivering a setback to the ruling Congress in AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s home district. Namoshi secured 15,596 first-preference votes, crossing the winning quota of 14,191 and establishing his victory without further counting. Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur was defeated despite an intensive campaign by senior party leaders and ministers. The constituency covers seven districts — Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari and Vijayanagara. Polling was held on October 23, with 30,253 of the 34,784 registered voters exercising their franchise, recording a turnout of around 87 per cent. Counting began at 8 am on Tuesday at Gulbarga University under the supervision of Returning Officer Zaheera Naseem. Political observers attributed Namoshi’s victory to his sustained engagement with teachers, the BJP-JD(S) alliance’s organisational strength and his association with the Hyderabad Karnataka Education institution. Reacting to the victory, Namoshi criticised the state government over vacant teaching posts, particularly in the Kalyana Karnataka region. He alleged that teachers were burdened with non-academic duties, affecting classroom teaching. He demanded that the government fill pending vacancies under Article 371(J), restore the Old Pension Scheme and hold discussions with teachers’ representatives to resolve their long-standing demands. Kalaburagi District Congress Committee president Dr Kiran Deshmukh acknowledged the setback and said the party would analyse its performance to identify the reasons for the defeat. The result marks Namoshi’s return to the Legislative Council seat after his earlier defeat to Mattur in 2014. The outcome highlights the BJP’s continued influence among teachers in the Kalyana Karnataka region, despite the Congress being in power in the state.
