Jayanagar poll on June 11

B.N. Vijayakumar, MLA and BJP candidate from Jayanagar constituency, on the campaign trail on April 26 in Jayanagar ‘T’ Block, in Bengaluru.

B.N. Vijayakumar, MLA and BJP candidate from Jayanagar constituency, on the campaign trail on April 26 in Jayanagar ‘T’ Block, in Bengaluru.   | Photo Credit: Bhagya Prakash K.

Election was countermanded here owing to the death of then MLA B.N. Vijayakumar

The Assembly constituency of Jayanagar, where election was countermanded owing to the death of then MLA B.N. Vijayakumar on May 4, will go to poll on June 11.

A notification from the Election Commission (EC) said only the BJP candidate can file for nominations by May 25 and counting will be held on June 13. The constituency has over 2.03 lakh voters, and 19 candidates. BJP has held the seat since delimitation in 2008.

Considering the fickle political scenario since results were announced on Tuesday, both Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituencies, where the poll will be held on May 28 and result will be announced on May 31, will be featured in the high tables of all three parties. The R.R. Nagar poll was deferred after the Election Commission found nearly 10,000 electoral photo identity cards in an apartment in Jalahalli and the police are investigating the role of N. Muniratna, Congress MLA, in the case.

With the current BJP government, sworn in only on Thursday, scrambling for numbers, two wins could aid their cause in consolidating power in the State – assuming they manage to prove their majority before the elections.

In Jayanagar, the Congress has fielded Soumya Reddy, daughter of Ramalinga Reddy, former Home Minister and BTM Layout MLA. The JD(S) has fielded greenhorn Kale Gowda.

In 2013

The charismatic late Mr. Kumar had secured 43,990 votes, while the JD(S) and Congress candidate combined – assuming that Kale Gowda would take a backseat and support the Congress candidate – had received 43,775 votes in 2013, when the BJP was hit by a wave of anti-incumbency.

However, it is in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, where 14 candidates are contesting, where it gets complicated for the INC-JD(S) coalition. In 2013, the two parties had got nearly two-third of the votes, with Mr. Muniratna, a film producer, beating the JD(S) candidate by over 18,000 votes.

The election this time was expected to be tight, considering that the Congress MLAs controversial and abrasive style had seen even Congress corporators support the JD(S) candidate in the polls before it was deferred.