Popular television actor Prachi Desai was declared winner of Jhalak Dikhalaja 2, the celebrity dance show, on Sony Television last night.

The 18-year-old beat Sandhya Mridul and Jay Bhanushali to win the title.

The winner's name was declared by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar [Images], who was present on the show along with Welcome co-star Katrina Kaif [Images].

Out of the three, Jay was the first to be eliminated. His name was announced by Katrina.

Prachi was a wild card entry into the show after being eliminated a month ago. She beat noted actor-dancer Sudha Chandran when the channel sought an audience SMS poll to choose the wild card entrant.

Prachi's selection ran into controversy as it was alleged that Balaji head honcho Ekta Kapoor [Images] had played a role in her selection.

The allegation was staunchly denied by the channel.

Prachi plays the protagonist Bani in Ekta's serial Kasamh se on Zee TV.

The grand finale was held in the RK Studios at Chembur in North East Mumbai.

The second season of the reality show ran for 13 weeks and had 26 episodes. Jeetendra [Images], Shiamak Davar and Urmila Matondkar [Images] were the celebrity judges on the show.

The two-and-a-half hour show saw performances by participants who were eliminated earlier, besides Akshay and Katrina.