Cong wins Jayanagar, its K’taka tally now 79

HD KUMARASWAMY OF THE JD(S) WAS SWORN IN AS THE CHIEF MINISTER ON MAY 23 WITH THE CONGRESS’S SUPPORT, AND SAILED THROUGH A FLOOR TEST

Bengaluru: Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy won Bengaluru’s Jayanagar seat in the Karnataka assembly on Wednesday by a margin of 2,889 votes,taking the party’s tally in the 224-member House to 79.

Election to the seat had been countermanded because of the death from a heart attack of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate BN Vijay Kumar in the lead-up to the May 12 assembly polls in Karnataka.

Reddy, daughter of former minister and senior state Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy, secured 54,457 votes, defeating B N Prahalad, Vijay Kumar’s brother, who won 51,568 votes. Crucially, the Janata Dal (Secular), the Congress’s partner in the Karnataka coalition government, withdrew its candidate Kalegowda from the contest.

“I came to electoral politics to serve more people and the people have seen this and the grassroots-level work I have done, especially my environmental activism,” Reddy told reporters after the result was declared.

Voting was held for 222 assembly seats on May 12, from which the BJP emerged the single-largest party with 104 seats. The Congress finished with a tally of 78 and the JD(S) 37, while the Bahujan Samaj Party won one seat. The coalition, formed before the final results were announced on May 15, also secured the support of two Independent candidates.

BJP’S BS Yeddyurappa was sworn in as chief minister but resigned hours before a floor test on May 19 after accusations that the party was trying to entice members of its political rivals.

HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) was sworn in as the chief minister on May 23 with the Congress’s support, and the coalition sailed through a floor test two days later. Congress has since won Rajarajeshwari Nagar and now Jayanagar. The death of its Jamkhandi MLA Siddu Nyamgouda in a road accident on May 28 means its effective tally stands at 79. The date for the re-election is yet to be announced.

The Ramanagara constituency will also head for another round of voting as chief minister Kumaraswamy, who also won Channapatna, decided to represent the latter constituency, resulting in Ramanagara falling vacant. At present, the coalition has the support of 118 MLAS.

Meanwhile, the BJP won three seats in elections to the legislative council, in which the Congress managed to wrest control of the North-east Teachers’ constituency from the BJP after 30 years. JD(S) won two seats.