Nuapada: BJP’s Jay Dholakia won the Nuapada bypoll by a margin of 83,748 votes, securing 1,23,869 votes.
Congress candidate Ghasi Ram Majhi finished second with 40,121 votes, while BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria came third with 38,408 votes.
Dholakia’s vote share stood at 58.27 per cent, followed by Majhi with 18.87 per cent and Chhuria with 18.07 per cent.
Jay is the son of the late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose death necessitated the bypoll.
The bypoll held political significance for the ruling BJP as it was the first electoral contest in the state since the party formed the government last year.
It was also a prestige fight for Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who had visited Nuapada at least six times in the run-up to the election.
Similarly, the election is also being seen as a test of BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s influence in state politics, who lost power last year after remaining the CM of the state for 24 years.
The bypoll recorded a voter turnout of 83.45 per cent, the highest among the eight by-elections held in the country.
There were 14 candidates in the fray in the Nuapada bypoll, the voting for which was held November 11.
As Dholakia’s margin increased, celebrations began at the BJP’s state headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
BJP state president Manmohan Samal thanked the people of Nuapada for choosing “development”.
“Nuapada has several problems which could not be resolved by either the BJD or Congress. Therefore, people supported the BJP, which is committed to developing the area,” he told reporters.
BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, who was in charge of the bypoll for the party, expressed surprise over the margin and alleged that the election was manipulated.
“It is a huge margin, which proves gross manipulation of the election by the BJP, using the government machinery. Though we pointed out several irregularities, the EC observers who were supposed to remain neutral also became mute spectators,” he alleged.
Congress candidate Majhi, who was the runner-up in the 2024 Assembly polls in the seat, alleged that “money played a major role” in the by-election.
PNN & Agencies
