MLC elections: South-East Graduates’ constituency to see hard, four-way contest

CHITRADURGA/DAVANGERE: The election to the Legislative Council seat from the South- East Graduates’ constituency is heating up with four candidates likely to be in the fray. While the JDS is putting up its proven winning candidate, Chowdareddy Thoopalli, who defeated BJP’s Dr Shivayogiswamy with a good margin last time, the Congress is likely to field Ramesh Babu, who had earlier won the MLC election from the teachers’ constituency.

The BJP has picked Chidananda Gowda over D T Srinivas, who is Hiriyur BJP MLA Poornima’s husband. A miffed Srinivas is now contesting the election as an independent. The candidates are touring extensively through the constituency that is spread across Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumkauru, Chitradurga and Davangere- Harihar (undivided Chitra durga district) .

Chowdareddy is filing his nomination papers on October 8 and Srinivas on October 7. Chidananda has not yet revealed the date, while the Congress is yet to announce the candidature of Ramesh Babu. Presenting his case, Chowdareddy told the media that during his six-year term, he worked hard for the rights and welfare of teachers, lecturers and graduates. He said that he raised issues of pay anomaly, promotion, faulty new pension scheme and empowerment of graduates.

“Despite our party not being in power, I raised these issues on the floor of the Council and also outside, ensuring that some justice is done to the teachers,” he claimed. He said that he has toured the constituency extensively and is confident of winning the election with a good margin of first-preference votes. If elected, he said he will take up pending issues of pay anomaly for trained graduate teachers, PU college lecturers, high school teachers and UGC pay scale lecturers.

He demanded that the new pension scheme should be scrapped immediately, while the old scheme be introduced to all government employees. “The BJP has failed to resolve the issues faced by newly recruited government employees over pension, though the party is in power at the state and Centre,” he said.