Hemachandra Yeledalli, who?

HUBLI: A dark horse -- an absolute dark horse, at that -- is set to challenge the might of the region''s strongman H.K. Patil in the forthcoming elections to the Legislative Council from the West Graduates'' Constituency.
The question is: Will Hemachandra Yeledalli stop the onward march of Patil, who has been representing the constituency for the last 18 years?
The supporters of Water Resources Minister H.K.Patil as also the opposition parties admit, privately though, that it will be a cakewalk for Patil this time too.
But Yeledalli is a picture of confidence. ``Let there be a free-and-fair election, I will upset all calculations.'''' He first made news when he accused Patil of enrolling fake names in the graduates voting list at a press conference in Bangalore. ``The tradition of bringing people from other districts should be stopped. And I have identified more than 6,000 fake cases of enrolment.''''
Though he is being projected as a common candidate of the Janata Parivar, Janata Dal (United) leader Basavaraj Horatti is said to be against fielding a candidate against H.K. Patil. Then, where does Yeledalli draw his strength from? Fingers are pointed towards the camp within the Congress which is opposed to Patil. Also, there is a serious effort to mobilise Lingayat votes in his favour.
Talking to The Times of India, Yeledalli said: ``I am not a novice to join the `also-ran'' category. Before taking the decision to contest, I toured the four districts. There is a strong opinion among the graduates for a change. The present representative has done very little for the constituency.''''
``H.K. Patil must be doing a good work as a minister but when it comes to issues concerning the graduates of the region, his contribution is nothing.'''' Yeledalli is known among the government employees as he is the president of the Dharwad district unit of the State Government Employees'' Association.
The state government employees and others constitute about 60 per cent of the 69,000 voters. ``Our associations in Karwar, Haveri and Gadag will be working for me.'''' While agreeing that the Lingayat community is being lured, he said: ``Brahmins who constitute about 25,000 votes, will not oppose me.''''
On the possibility of the Janata Dal (United) remaining passive during the elections, he said, ``What Basavaraj Horatti expressed is not the official stand of the party. The decision to support me will be taken by party president Byre Gowda.''''
Yeledalli, who was working as a first-division clerk in the revenue department, resigned in December last to contest the elections.
He claimed that before deciding to contest, he had a feel of the voters'' opinion. ``I am in touch with the voters.''''