The Janata Dal (Secular) on Wednesday retained Ward 32 of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) with its candidate S.B.M. Manju emerging victorious in the byelections.
Mr. Manju defeated his nearest BJP rival K. Madesh by 307 votes in the keenly fought byelections, the polling of which was last Sunday. While Mr. Manju drew 2,424 votes, Mr. Madesh bagged 2,117 votes. The Congress party’s B.K. Prakash came a distant third with 329 votes.
The by-elections to Ward 32 were held after the membership of former member Mahadesh of the JD(S) was cancelled in the wake of his conviction in a murder case.
Apart from the nominees of the JD(S), BJP and Congress, two more candidates were in the fray.
While Mangala Gowri of Bharatiya Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Janata Party polled 17 votes, independent candidate B.J. Mahabalaraj secured 12.
A total of 4,923 votes had been polled during the elections held across 12 booths in the ward on Sunday. Out of the 10,201 eligible voters, a total of 4,923 people had cast their votes. As many as 24 voters had exercised the NOTA (None Of The Above) option available to them in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
Counting of votes was taken up at the Government Sanskrit Pathashala near the MCC head office on Sayyaji Rao Road on Wednesday. Counting was held on two tables and completed in six rounds, said Returning Officer Priyadarshini, who is also the Assistant Commissioner of MCC Zone 6.
While the election results were despatched to the State Election Commission, S.B.M. Manju, who romped home with 2,424 votes was given the certificate of election by Ms. Priyadarshini in the presence of Mayor Ravi Kumar and MCC Commissioner G. Jagadeesh.
