Congress wins Bengaluru’s RR Nagar seat

Bengaluru, May 31: Congress candidate Munirathna won the election from Raja Rajeshwari (RR) Nagar Assembly constituency here by 25,492 votes, said an official on Thursday. “Munirathna won by a margin of 25,492 votes,” Karnataka’s Joint Chief Electoral Officer K.N. Ramesh told IANS here. Munirathna, who had also held the seat in the previous assembly, polled 1,08,064 votes against 82,572 by BJP’s Tulasi Muniraju Gowda and 60,360 of Janata Dal-Secular’s (JD-S) G.H. Ramachandra in the electoral battle in which 14 candidates, including 5 Independents. were in the fray. Around 54 per cent voting was recorded in the segment on May 28 when polling was held after it was deferred from May 12 due to reports of electoral malpractice in the area.

The constituency has 4.7 lakh electorate. With Munirathna’s victory, the Congress strength in the 225-member assembly, however, remains at 78, as it lost one seat after newly-elected lawmaker Siddu Bhimappa Nyamgoud died in a road mishap on May 28 in Bagalkot district. The BJP won 104 and emerged as the single largest party, while JD-S won 36 seats. (IANS)