Bengaluru, Jun 13 (IANS): The Congress on Wednesday snatched the Jayanagar Assembly seat in Bengaluru from the BJP, with its candidate Sowmya Reddy winning by a narrow margin of 2,889 votes.
At the end of the vote count, Sowmya Reddy polled 54,457 votes while the Bharatiya Janata Party's B.N. Prahlad got 51,568 votes, an Election Commission official told IANS.
Polling was held on Monday after the May 12 Assembly election in the seat was countermanded following the death of BJP contestant B.N. Vijaya Kumar on May 4.
The BJP nominated Kumar's younger brother Prahlad as its candidate while Sowmya is the daughter of Congress leader and former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
Amidst bursting of firecrackers and celebrations at Ramalinga Reddy's residence, the winning candidate Sowmya said the victory belonged to all Congress party workers.
"This is a collective victory of all the Congress party workers and the guidance of my father (Ramalinga Reddy)," Sowmya told reporters.
With wins in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru and now in Jayanagar, the Congress tally in the 225-member Assembly has gone up to 79.
Earlier Updates:
After the 15th round of counting, Sowmya Reddy of Congress is still leading with 53,151 votes as against 48,302 secured by BJP's Prahlad Babu. The difference is now 4,849.
In the 14th round of counting, Sowmya Reddy garnered 48,584 votes as against 39,970 by Prahlad Babu of BJP.
In the 13th round of counting, BJP candidate Prahlad Babu garnered 39,919 votes, trailing behind Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy who has got 48,456 votes so far. Congress leads by 8,537 votes.
The 12th round of counting saw Sowmya Reddy of Congress maintain her strong lead with a vote share of 45,975 as against 35,798 votes secured by BJP's Prahlad Babu. Congress leads by 10,177 votes.
Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy has secured 43,476 votes after the 11th round of counting, as against 30,695 votes secured by BJP candidate Prahlad Babu. The Congress' now leads by 12,781 votes.
After the 10th round of counting, Sowmya Reddy of Congress secured a lead of 14,939, securing 40,677 votes, while BJP's Prahlad Babu garnered 25,779 votes.
The ninth round of counting saw Congress widen its gap against rival BJP by over 15,345 votes, with party candidate Sowmya Reddy securing 37,288 votes as against 21,943 by BJP's Prahlad Babu.
In the eighth round of counting, Congress has widened its lead by over 10,000 votes, with party candidate Sowmya Reddy securing 31,642 votes as against 21,386 votes garnered by BJP's Prahlad Babu.
The seventh round of counting saw Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy maintain her lead with 27,195 votes, with BJP's Prahlad Babu securing 19,822 votes. Congress' lead has widened to 7,373 votes.
Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy continues to maintain her lead after the sixth round of counting. She has so far garnered 22,356 votes, while BJP's Prahlad Babu has got 18,763 votes.
Sowmya Reddy of Congress leads against BJP's Prahlad Babu. Sowmya Reddy gets 17,923 votes, Prahlad Babu secures 16,280 votes in fifth round of counting.
Independent candidate Ravikrishna Reddy gets 490 votes in the fifth round.
As many as 269 NOTA votes counted so far.
Jubilant Congress supporters broke out in celebrations as the results came pouring in.
In the fourth round, Sowmya Reddy of Congress leads against BJP's Prahlad Babu. Sowmya Reddy gets 16,438 votes, Prahlad Babu secures 11,090 votes in fourth round of counting.
Independent candidate Ravikrishna Reddy gets 384 votes in the fourth round.
The counting of votes for election in Bengaluru's Jayanagar constituency, which went to poll on June 11, is being held here on Wednesday June 13.
Jayanagar is one of the two constituencies in the State where polling was postponed by the Election Commission. The polling in remaining 222 out of 224 assembly seats was held on May 12.
The elections in Jayanagar were postponed after BJP candidate, B N Vijaykumar passed away while he was campaigning days before May 12 elections. The BJP has fielded Vijayakumar's brother B N Prahlad Babu, who will face Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy's daughter Sowmya Reddy.
In all, 19 candidates are in the fray, including independent nominee Ravi Krishna Reddy. The JD(S) which formed the government with the Congress withdrew its candidate at the last minute.