BRS candidate, who won by one-vote margin, loses by 1 vote after recounting

A dramatic turn unfolded in Jogulamba Gadwal’s municipal elections when the BRS candidate Jayamma, initially declared winner in the eighth ward, lost by a single vote after a recount demanded by Congress candidate Venkatamma.

Jogulamba Gadwal: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has alleged that the party candidate Jayamma, who was initially declared the winner in the eighth ward here, later lost by just one vote after the Congress forced a recounting of votes.

Tension prevailed in the eighth ward after BRS leaders staged a demonstration and squatted on Raichur road in the town. They demanded that election officials go for another round recounting and clear the apprehensions but the officials did not yield and instead, announced Congress candidate Venkatamma as the winner.

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Earlier, BRS candidate Jayamma was declared the winner as she secured 465 votes and won by one vote. However, Venkatamma insisted on recounting and officials considered her appeal. Later, officials said Jayamma secured 464 votes and Venkatamma secured 465 votes and declared her the winner by one vote.

Raising objections over the reversal of the result, Jayamma demanded recounting once again but the election officials did not agree. Irked over the official attitude, BRS leader Anjaneyulu Goud, constituency in-charge Hanumanthu Naidu and former municipal chairman BS Keshavulu squatted on the road and demanded justice.

The BRS leaders alleged that officials facilitated the Congress candidate’s victory by counting invalid votes as well. They said they would file a complaint with the State Election Commission over the issue.

There are 37 wards in Gadwal Municipality and the magic figure to form the council body is 19. The Congress won 15 wards, BRS 11 and BJP seven wards.