BANGALORE: Five of the six candidates elected to the Legislative Council in the June 17 elections from the graduates and teachers constituencies took oath as members of the House on Thursday.

They were warmly welcomed by acting Chairman Sachidanand Khot, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Leader of the Opposition H.K. Patil and members of all political parties.

Four BJP candidates, including two Ministers, and two independents emerged victorious in the elections. Ministers Ramachandra Gowda and D.H. Shankaramurthy won for the fourth time, while their party colleagues Ganesh Karnik and Manohar Maski made their maiden entry into the Upper House. Y.A. Narayanaswamy and Marithibbe Gowda are independent members.

While Mr. Marithibbe Gowda was not present, Mr. Maski, Capt. Karnik, Mr. Ramachandra Gowda, Mr. Shankaramurthy and Mr. Narayanaswamy took the oath and were introduced to the House.

Mr. Patil said it was good to see a good mix of old hands and "freshmen" coming into the House, as it would enhance the quality of debate.

There was a great deal of mirthful exchanges between the members cutting across party lines, and the former Chairman V.R. Sudarshan (Congress) had the House laughing when he observed, "The two independent members have defeated the Congress, the Janata Dal (S) and the BJP, but not the JD(U), so M.P. Nadagouda can claim they belong to his party."

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