KALABURAGI: The BJP has started preparing for elections to the Legislative Council from Northeast Teachers’ Constituency, about six months ahead, sending a state-level team to study the ground situation in the constituency, to collect names of candidates suggested by the District Core Committees.
The BJP state unit constituted a committee under state unit general secretary Nirmal Kumar Surana and Kalaburagi division in-charge of BJP Rajkumar Patil Telkur, who is also Sedam MLA, BJP Ballari division in-charge Ashok Gasti and others, as members to study the ground situation in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Bellary districts, coming under the jurisdiction of Northeast Teachers’ Constituency.
The committee visited Bidar, Kalaburagi and Raichur districts on Sunday, and Koppal and Ballari districts on Monday, and elicited the opinion of members of the district-level core committees and other leaders.
Sources said the committee would submit its report recommending a few names to the BJP state unit to select suitable candidates in a few days. The committee would take a final decision after getting consent from the BJP leadership. The selected candidate would be given sufficient time to enrol teachers in the voters’ list and bring awareness on the need to elect a BJP candidate.
The sources further said that Northeast Teachers’ Constituency and Northeast Graduates’ Constituency were earlier considered a BJP stronghold. But in previous elections to both constituencies, BJP candidates were defeated by Congress candidates for the first time in the history of Northeast Teachers Constituency and Northeast Graduates Constituency. Sharanappa Mattur of the Congress defeated BJP candidate Shashil Namoshi, who was elected for two terms.