Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Feb 9: Election for the post of the chairman of the state legislative council was held on Tuesday February 9 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation to the post tendered by K Prathapachandra Shetty.

JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horatti who fought as a BJP and JD(S)-supported candidate, got elected as the new chairman of the council. Naseer Ahmed had filed his nomination as a Congress candidate for the election. But the Congress legislators did not take part in the election process. Therefore Horatti was declared elected.

As soon as the council proceedings began, Congress MLCs began to stage protest. The Congress legislators entered the well of the house and protested against the cow slaughter prohibition act. On this occasion, verbal friction occurred between the members of the ruling party and the opposition. In the midst of this din, Basavaraj Horatti got elected as the new chairman of the council.

Deputy speaker, M K Pranesh, declared Horatti as having been elected as the chairman of the council. Congress members stayed away from the election process. The election process got completed without the casting of votes. After he was declared elected, Horatti occupied the chair of the council chairman.

Basavaraj Horatti (74) has been elected as a council member everytime from the year 1980. He was briefly the council chairman for six months in 2018. As the election was scheduled, Horatti's family members were present in the council. His wife, Hemalatha, two sons and the only daughter were present.

Out of 75 members in the council, BJP has 31 members, Congress has 28 and JD(s) 13. JD(S) bagged the post of the chairman of the council easily, after it gave up the post of the deputy chairman to the BJP. Congress was aware that its candidate cannot sail through successfully but it had fielded its candidate, Naseer Ahmed, in the election.