Elections for Jayanagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru were held on June 11. Counting of votes has begun for Jayanagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru, where elections were held on June 11. Assembly elections were held across Karnataka on May 12, but polls in Jayanagar were countermanded following the death of BJP candidate BN Vijayakumar , who was holding the seat.An estimated 55 per cent polling was recorded in the constituency on June 11.BJP's BN Prahlad, brother of Vijayakumar, and senior Congress leader and former minister Ramalinga Reddy's daughter Sowmya Reddy were locked in a direct contest for the seat. In all, nineteen candidates were in the fray. Ahead of polls, Janata Dal (S) had on June 5 pulled out its candidate from the election and extended the party's support to its ruling coalition partner, the Congress.Police have made elaborate security arrangement in and around the counting centre.<doc-sep>Karnataka ministers DK Shivakumar, KJ George congratulate Reddy "After the victory in RR Nagar, this is yet another indication of people's faith in our party," DK Shivakumar tweeted. "Thank you to the voters of Jayanagar for supporting the Congress and defeating BJP." KJ George expressed his "heartiest congratulations" and said the Congress now has 15 of the 28 seats in Bengaluru. Congratulations to @Sowmyareddyr for winning the Jayanagar Assembly Seat. After the victory in RR Nagar, this is yet another indication of people's faith in our party. Thank you to the voters of Jayanagar for supporting the Congress & defeating BJP. pic.twitter.com/wFhkrgP5mJ — DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) June 13, 2018<doc-sep>NEW DELHI: The Congress today won the assembly poll in Karnataka's Jayanagar where elections were deferred last month following the death of a candidate days before the state election on May 12.The Congress candidate won by 2,889 votes after 16 rounds of counting. Polling in this south Bengaluru assembly constituency was held Monday, almost a month after state elections which saw a coalition of the Congress and the JD(S) coming to power.Congress party workers started celebrating and bursting crackers as early results indicated a Congress win. And Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy said that support had come in for her even from rival parties. The Congress now has 80 seats in the Karnataka assembly.Reddy's a daughter of state minister Ramalinga Reddy who's represented Jayanagar four times previously . He said he expected the victory margin to be higher, but added that he isn't disappointed.“I was a winner from Jayanagar four times previously and had shifted from the adjoining constituency to BTM Layout, as it includes my home area. Had I contested from the same constituency the previous two times, would have won from there. This time the party high command had given an opportunity to my daughter, I thank them. I had expected the victory margin to be a lot higher but I am not disappointed. It is a victory,” said Ramalinga.Curiosity about the outcome of the Jayanagar poll is high, particularly after the JD(S) withdrew its candidate, to support the Congress . This was unlike in the recent Rajarajeshwari Nagar poll - also conducted after the state polls - where both parties fielded candidates, and the Congress candidate won.The candidate who died last month was the BJP's B N Vijayakumar, who was also the sitting MLA from the constituency. This time around, the BJP fielded his brother B N Prahlad Babu, whose main rival was the Congress party's Reddy. A total of 19 candidates contested.Voting was by and large peaceful and the assembly segment recorded 55% voter turnout. It appeared more people than usual voted this time in Jayanagar. "We are pleased with the way the polls went off. Jayanagar doesn't always put up a good show in terms of numbers, but this time a large number of people, who don't usually vote, seem to have exercised their franchise," said D B Natesh, assistant commissioner (elections), after voting concluded on Monday.Apoorva Aravind, a public policy maker and third-time voter, said the death of the BJP candidate and the subsequent countermanding had had a definite impact on the electorate. "Compared to the previous times I have voted, I can see more people at the booths this time," said who had come from Jayamahal Extension. "Since this election is being held after the state government has been formed, I believe many of the electorate have woken up and given more thought to who they are going to vote. I have been more introspective as well."<doc-sep>But the last time Congress won the Jayanagar assembly constituency was in 2004, and its win there on Wednesday should worry the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because of its near term ramifications. Janata Dal (Secular) leader Danish Ali, who is the convener of the JD(S)-Congress coordination committee, told Business Standard that Jayanagar's example is set to become a template upon which the two parties will contest the 2019 Lok ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. 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Breaking into a constituency that has been a BJP stronghold for the past decade, Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy won from Jayanagar constituency by securing 54,458 votes. She is the daughter of senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy, who served as the Home Minister in Siddaramaiah's cabinet. Albeit, it was a close tie till the end. Sowmya Reddy won with a mere margin of 2,887 votes against BJP candidate B.N. Prahlad, brother of BJP leader B.N. Vijaya Kumar, who passed away in May this year. Mr Prahlad secured 51,571 votes. Congress supporters began celebrations early on Wednesday morning when a clear trend of her victory began to emerge. A huge number of supporters gathered outside SSMRV college in Jayanagar 4T block, where the counting was held. Congress has gained back the constituency after losing for two successive terms. Prior to 2008, Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy won from this constituency for four consecutive terms. Supporters of Congress candidate Soumya Reddy celebrate as she is leading against BJP candidate Prahlad in Jayanagar election. | Photo Credit: V Sreenivasa Murthy Independent candidate Ravi Krishna Reddy, a well known anti-corruption activist, was in for disappointment as he was able to garner only 1,861 votes. As many as 848 voters preferred NOTA. The election to Jayanagar constituency was held on June 11, after it was countermanded in the wake of Mr Vijaya Kumar's demise. Out of the 2.03 lakh voters here, 1,11,689 voters (55 per cent) cast their votes. This brings the total tally of Congress to 79 seats in the Karnataka Assembly. While the Congress had initially won 78 seats and later secured victory in RR Nagar constituency (the elections for which was held on May 28), there was a setback by one seat, owing to the demise of Jamkhandi MLA Siddu Nyamagouda in an accident. This constituency is now headed for bylelection. At present, the Karnataka Assembly has 104 BJP seats, 36 JD (S), one BSP, in addition to two independent candidates. After JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy took oath as the Chief Minister from Channapatna, Ramanagar constituency (the other constituency from where he contested and won) is also headed for bypolls.