From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Jun 14: After a seesaw battle and tense moments in counting, in which the electoral fortunes kept fluctuating hour-to-hour, senior BJP leader and former minister Ramachandra Gowda finally managed to scrape through with a very narrow margin of 243 votes in the elections to the Bangalore Graduates Constituency.
Ramachandra Gowda, who served as the medical education minister in the B S Yeddyurappa ministry and was forced to quit over a recruitment scam in medical colleges, has now been elected to the Karnataka Legislative Council for the fifth time.
The BJP leader, who was made the deputy chairman of the State Planning Board after resigning his cabinet minister’s post, has trounced his nearest JD(S) rival A Deve Gowda by a facile margin of 243 votes when the result was officially declared on Thursday.
Ramachandra Gowda secured 8461 votes while Deve Gowda got 8218 votes.
The BJP leader had resigned his post as deputy chairman of the State Planning Board, which enjoys Cabinet minister’s rank and perks, before filing his nomrination papers.
A total of 16 candidates, including Lok Satta Party candidate Ashwini Mahesh, who had received the support of former Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde, contested the election.
Ramachadra Gowda, who holds an engineering degree, was first elected to the Legislative Council from the Bangalore Graduates Constituency in 1988. He has been re-elected in 1994, 2000 and 2006.
With Ramachnadra Gowda’s victory, the ruling BJP candidates emerged victorious in five out of the six graduates and teachers’ constituencies which had gone to polls on last Sunday.
The JD(S) captured the South Teachers constituency with the party candidate Marithibbe Gowda emerging victorious.
The main opposition Congress party received a complete drubbing in all the six constituencies.
Other BJP candidates who were declared elected are: Y A Narayanaswamy from South-East Teachers’ constituency; Legislative Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy from South-West Graduates constituency; Captain Ganesh Karnik from South-West Teachers constituency; and Amarnath Patil from North-East Graduates constituency.