Congress’ Sowmya Reddy won the Jayanagar Assembly election defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate BN Prahlad by a close margin. With this victory, the Congress now has 80 seats in the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly.

Reddy’s victory also means the Congress, which is the dominant member of the alliance government led by Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka in terms of strength in the House, now has 15 of the 28 assembly seats of Bengaluru.

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Sowmya Reddy is the daughter of Congress leader and former state home minister Ramalinga Reddy. Her win has made many in the Congress confident of wresting the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019.

While Sowmya polled 54,457 votes BN Prahlad got 51,568 votes.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara congratulated Sowmya for the win.

“Hearty congratulations to @Sowmyareddyr for winning #Jayanagar Assembly elections! A heartfelt thank you goes to the voters who saw the future in @INCKarnataka. With this impactful win, we have now conquered 15 out of 28 Assembly seats in Bengaluru,” he wrote on Twitter.

Hearty congratulations to @Sowmyareddyr for winning #Jayanagar Assembly elections!

A heartfelt thank you goes to the voters who saw the future in @INCKarnataka. With this impactful win, we have now conquered 15 out of 28 Assembly seats in Bengaluru.

— Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) June 13, 2018

Congratulations also came from Irrigation and Medical Education Minister DK Shivakumar.

“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,” wrote the Congress leader who is hailed as the architect behind the formation of the alliance.

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

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Dinesh Gundu Rao took to Twitter to congratulate Sowmya.

“Congrats to @Sowmyareddyr on her win. Another confidence boost for @INCIndia as we wrest the MLA seat from BJP. In #Bengaluru, Congress has now won 15/28. I thank the voters of #Jayanagar for reinforcing their faith in us,” he wrote.

Congrats to @Sowmyareddyr on her win. Another confidence boost for @INCIndia as we wrest the MLA seat from BJP.
In #Bengaluru, Congress has now won 15/28.
I thank the voters of #Jayanagar for reinforcing their faith in us.

— Dinesh Gundu Rao (@dineshgrao) June 13, 2018

The counting of votes began at 8 am at a private college in the upscale suburb. Though election to the Jayanagar seat was scheduled with others for 12 May, the death of sitting MLA BN Vijaya Kumar on 4 May led to the countermanding of the poll.

Vijaya Kumar, who died of cardiac arrest aged 59, was a BJP heavyweight. He was a two-time MLA from the constituency and was contesting a third time.

BN Prahlad is Vijaya Kumar’s younger brother.