The BJD in Odisha headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Sunday retained the Pipili Assembly seat with its candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy winning the by-polls by defeating his nearest rival BJP's Ashrit Pattnaik by 20,916 votes, the Election Commission (EC) said.
Mr Maharathy was declared the winner in the by-election, polling for which was held on September 30, the returning officer said. While the BJD candidate secured 96,972 votes, the BJP nominee got 76,056 votes.
Congress candidate Biswokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra, who managed only 4,261 votes, lost his security deposit in the by-poll contested by a total of 10 candidates, the EC said.
The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year.
Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote in Odia: "I thank the people of Pipili from the core of my heart for giving massive support to BJD candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy. I also congratulate all the party workers and leaders. BJD is yours. We are always dedicated to serving the people."
EC sources said 1,80,037 votes were polled through EVMs, and another 893 votes were cast through postal ballots. As many as 831 people cast their votes under NOTA.
While the BJD secured 53.6 per cent votes, the BJD got 42 per cent and the Congress 2.4 per cent, of the 1,80,930 votes polled through EVMs and postal ballots.
Meanwhile, BJP state unit president Samir Mohanty thanked the people of Pipili for having faith in the party even as its candidate lost the elections.
In a statement, Mr Mohanty said more voters have this time exercised their franchise in favour of the BJP candidate in comparison to the previous election in 2019.
The Congress, accepting defeat, said, the party reiterates its commitment to fight for the interests of the people.
Rudra Pratap Maharathy won the seat with a bigger margin than his father Pradeep Maharathy's 15,787 vote difference in the 2019 general elections in Pipili. Pradeep Maharathy had also defeated the same BJP candidate Ashrit Pattnaik.
Incidentally, Rudra Pratap Maharathy's victory came on the day of his father's first death anniversary.
"The voters are my 'malik' (master) and I am their 'sevak' (servant). As I have mentioned earlier, I am here to serve the people of Pipili. Whether I am elected as the MLA or not, I would have stood by them always," Mr Maharathy, 32, said.
He said the people of the Pipili-Delang area had been anxiously waiting for their representative in the assembly for a year.
With the victory in Pipili, the BJD's winning spree continued following the triumphs in the by-polls held at Bijepur, Balasore and Tirtol, after the 2019 general elections.
The by-election results will certainly have a positive impact on the ensuing panchayat polls, said BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra.
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