Amid misgivings expressed by the Bharatiya Janata Party over the exit of former Chairman of Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti, senior Congress leader Saleem Ahmed was on Friday elected to the post.

Mr. Ahmed, having secured 38 votes, defeated the Opposition nominee and senior BJP member P.H. Pujar, who secured 30 votes, including six from the NDA ally Janata Dal (Secular). While the tradition in the Upper House in recent decades has been of having Chairman elected unanimously, the BJP, which took objection over the manner in which Mr. Horatti was asked to step down, fielded Mr. Pujar as its candidate.

Issues surrounding exit

The BJP leaders — in their congratulatory speech to Mr. Ahmed — raised the issue surrounding the exit of Mr. Horatti, the senior most member of the House. The Leader of Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy accused the government functionaries, including Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, of forcing Mr. Horatti to resign though he had sought time till Friday to read out a thanksgiving message before demitting the office. The BJP and the JD(S) members said that the veteran member should have been provided a honourable exit.

Mr. Pujar, who lost to Mr. Ahmed, said that the tradition of not having election for the Chairman’s post should be upheld in the future. Mr. Ahmed himself expressed pain over occupying the post after an election. Mr. Ahmed was brought in by both the ruling and the Opposition members to his seat and he took charge bowing to the chair.

Mr. Ahmed, who has resigned from the Congress, said that the post belongs to the House and not to any party.

Explanation sought

As BJP members demanded an explanation from the government after the Congress released the names proposing names for the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman posts, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president B.K. Hariprasad insisted that the Congress has neither insulted Mr. Horatti nor the post.

“We offered two options — either resign or face a no confidence motion. The Congress did not want to lower the dignity and honour of the House by ousting him through no confidence motion,” he said.

Praising Mr. Horatti as a “model to the House,” Mr. Shivakumar said, “He wanted to thank the House before stepping down.... You (Mr. Horatti) have created history in Indian politics. You will get opportunities. Let us move on.”

‘Will contest again and win’

In a farewell speech, outgoing Speaker Basavaraj Horatti, who is in his eighth term in the House, said, “I have never stuck to power or the position of Chairman. I wanted to quit today (Friday) after thanking everyone and I had sought time from the Chief Minister and Mr. Hariprasad. But it did not happen. Politics consumed it.” Earlier, after being advised by Minister for Higher Education Basavaraj Raya Reddy not to get disheartened, Mr. Horatti said, “I will take this as a challenge and I will get elected in the next election (from Karnataka West constituency) again.”

Published - August 14, 2026 08:06 pm IST