Cong wins RR Nagar seat

Despite a three-way battle that included a ‘friendly fight’ with the JD(S), the Congress managed to retain the Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency by a huge margin of over 25,000 votes against the BJP candidate.

Controversial Congress candidate Muniratna romped home to victory with a whopping 1,08,064 votes while Muniraju Gowda of the BJP polled 82,572 votes. The JD(S) came third with 60,360 votes.

Had the JD(S) supported the Congress, the margin would have put the BJP in a spot of embarrassment. But a careful analysis of the results shows that many JD(S) pockets voted for the Congress.

After the May 12 assembly elections, equations had changed with political rivals Congress and JD(S) becoming coalition partners in the government. However, senior leaders of both the parties held road shows seeking votes for their respective candidates. The

Elections to the Assembly segment were deferred due to the seizure of 9,564 Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) from an apartment at Jalahalli.

BJP, too, put in all its efforts to ensure the victory of their candidate Muniraju Gowda

The byelection was considered prestigious as Muniratna was embroiled in various controversies. Elections to the Assembly segment were deferred due to the seizure of 9,564 Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) from an apartment at Jalahalli.

Following the directions of the Election Commission, police investigated the matter and registered a case against many people, including Congress candidate Muniratna.

"We won the RR Nagar seat with huge margin, the people of Bengaluru have blessed us," said Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao.