Amid late-night drama, BJP wins Jayanagar seat in Bengaluru – by 16 votes

According to the Election Commission website, the margin of victory was 16 votes — Ramamurthy polled 57,797 votes, against Reddy’s 57,781.

The Congress alleged irregularities in the counting process, saying that election officials had already declared Reddy the winner but on reverification and recounting requests by BJP, Ramamurthy’s 160 votes, which were rejected in the morning, were considered as valid and the Election Commission (EC) later declared Ramamurthy a winner, Congress leaders alleged.

“When the EC already declared Sowmya Reddy the winner how can they nullify it and declare another winner,” asked a senior Congress leader. “Moreover, these are postal ballot votes which were signed by a non-gazetted officer. It cannot be considered valid.”

As the news emerged, the BJP camp broke into celebration mode, bursting firecrackers and conducting a victory lap after regaining Jayanagar, considered a party stronghold.

At midnight, BJP Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya tweeted, “We RECLAIM JAYANAGAR! OUR HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO SRI BN VIJAYAKUMAR SIR.”

The Congress has alleged high-handedness and interference by BJP MP Surya, BJP leader R Ashok, and Central government officials, claiming voter manipulation. Congress leaders D K Suresh and D K Shivakumar, along with Reddy’s father Ramalinga Reddy and a legal team arrived at the counting centre.

A scuffle broke out between Suresh and police officials when Congress supporters tried to force themselves into the counting centre. A video of Ashok and Surya inside the centre has also sparked a row, with Surya seen using his mobile phone, in what would be a violation of rules.

Police have imposed Section 144 within 100 meters of the centre.

In Bengaluru seats, BJP retains hold The election results in Bengaluru city did not throw much of a surprise. Both BJP and Congress managed to cling on to their respective seats, while recording some hits and misses. The BJP managed to raise its tally by one seat to 16 over 2018 results, while the Congress finished with 12.

The JD(S) drew a blank, losing Dasarahalli to BJP’s S Muniraju, who won by securing 91,289 votes.

Bengaluru saw extensive electioneering by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who conducted three big roadshows in the city, covering 22 Assembly constituencies. The BJP was targeting wins in at least 18-20 seats through a “Modi wave”, even as the IT capital has always chosen its legislators based on their popularity and works. In 2018, BJP had initially bagged 11 seats, while the Congress got 15 and JD(S) two.

But after the 2019 defections, BJP’s tally went up to 15, while the Congress’s tally slid to 12 and the JD(S) to one.

In Vijay Nagar and Govindarajnagar, Congress’s father-son duo M Krishnappa and Priya Krishna, respectively, won comfortably, with the former retaining his seat beating BJP’s Umesh Shetty.

These were also seats where Modi conducted his first roadshow in Bengaluru North Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP also managed to hold its ground in Rajajinagar, C V Raman Nagar, Malleshwaram, Chickpet, Basavanagudi, Padmanaba Nagar, Yelahanka, Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and Bangalore South.