Bengaluru Assembly counting began :Congress leads

Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy was leading in south Bengaluru’s Jayanagar Assembly constituency contest after 11 rounds of vote count on Wednesday over BJP nominee B.N. Prahlad, said an election official.

“At the end of 11th round of the total 16 rounds of counting, Sowmya was ahead with 43,476 votes over Prahlad, who received 30,746 votes,” the official told IANS.

Sowmya was leading by a margin of 12,730 votes.

Vote counting that began at 8 a.m. at a private college in the upscale suburb, was underway.

Polling was held on Monday after the May 12 Assembly election in the seat was countermanded following the death of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (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 state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy.