Jayanagar poll on June 11

Bengaluru: The polling in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar assembly constituency, which was cancelled due the death of BJP candidate B.N. Vijaykumar, will be held on June 11. The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 16.

The Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency election is scheduled for May 28. The poll in RR Nagar was postponed after a voter ID scam was unearthed before polling day on May 12. Over 9,000 voter ID cards were found in a flat in Jalahalli a week before the polls. The Election Commission, on investigating the case, postponed the elections to May 28.

In view of the hung Assembly, winning the two seats has become very crucial for the BJP which fell short of a simple majority winning only 104 seats in the 224-member assembly. For the Congress party which has struck a post-poll alliance with the Janata Dal (S), the challenge is to prevent the BJP from increasing its numbers.

Even if the BJP wins both seats, its tally would reach only 106 and it would still be short of seven MLAs to reach the simple majority mark. The Congress party may field Sowmya Reddy, daughter of former home minister R. Ramalinga Reddy in Jayanagar  while the BJP may field one of its corporators or a woman candidate.

In RR Nagar constituency, the Congress may back the JD (S) because of the large number of Vokkaliga voters. If the Congress and JD (S) come together, it may help defeat the BJP candidate, Tulasi Muniraju Gowda keeping in view the Vokkaliga votes.