Hubli (Karnataka): BJP candidate Basavaraja Horatti retained the Western Teachers' constituency in the MLC election for a record eighth consecutive time on Wednesday by bagging a whopping 9,266 votes out of 11,000 votes. Seven candidates including those from the BJP, JD(S), and Congress along with Independents were in the fray. The constituency covers the districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri, and Gadaga.
While Basavaraja polled 9,266 votes, Congress candidate Basavaraja Gurikara bagged 4,597 votes and JD(S) candidate Srishaila Gadadinni managed to get 273 votes. Meanwhile, the number of invalid votes in the Western Teachers' constituency shot up this time. The constituency recorded 1,223 invalid votes, the highest in its 42-year-old history. The constituency recorded 175 invalid votes in 1980,205 in 1986, 380 in 1992, 571 in 1998, 537 in 2004 and 784 votes in 2016.
