Nuapada: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) failed to defend its long-held political stronghold in the Nuapada Assembly by-election, despite an intensive campaign led by party candidate Snehangini Chhuria. Chhuria, who entered the electoral field with confidence and campaigned door to door with party leaders, workers and supporters, secured 38,408 votes, finishing in third place. Nuapada, considered a BJD bastion, had earlier elected the late Rajendra Dholakia as MLA three times on a BJD ticket.
Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the constituency twice during the campaign, and several heavyweight leaders from the coastal region also spent days coordinating the campaign. However, the party still failed to hold its ground. Local discussions suggested that voters were reluctant to accept a candidate from outside the district. Adding to the speculation, Chhuria did not appear on the day of the result announcement, raising questions among voters.
Many asked whether she had sensed defeat beforehand or whether there was some form of understanding with the BJP. A voter said Chhuria misled the public by claiming Nuapada as her “maternal home”. “When we asked which village was her maternal home and who her maternal relatives were, she had no answer. People realised she was using this claim only to secure votes. Everything was a pretence. Being an outsider, she was rejected,” he said. Another woman voter said her family had traditionally BJD’s vote percentage nosedives The Nuapada bypoll has come as a major setback for the regional outfit as its candidate could secure only 18.06 per cent of the votes against 33.65 per cent in the 2024 Assembly election. The BJP, on the other hand, which was in third place in the 2024 polls by getting 24.39 per cent, in the bypoll secured 58.27 per cent votes.
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Congress also raised its vote share from 8.44 per cent in 2024 to 18.88 per cent in the bypoll whose results were announced Friday. supported Rajendra Dholakia. “He always stood by us and helped whenever needed. After his death, we thought his son would continue serving the people, so we voted for him. The woman contesting on the conch symbol visited our homes and asked for support, but people said she was from Bargarh district. That is why we did not vote for her,” she said