BJD wins Kandhamal bypoll by 3 lakh vote margin

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today reaffirmed its supremacy in the state politics by improving its vote share and winning margin in the by-election to the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat.

The party has polled about 57,000 more votes and increased its vote share by about 10 per cent despite reduced voters' turnout for the bypoll, which was necessitated by the death of incumbent BJD MP, Hemendra Singh.

Singh's wife Pratyusha Rajeswari, who contested as the BJD candidate has won with an impressive margin of 2.98 lakh votes against her nearest contestant Rudramadhab Ray from BJP.

This result not only indicated BJD's strong support base among all sections of the society, but also countered the views of critics, who said involvement of some party leaders in chit fund scam, which is currently being probed by the CBI and other irregularities could impact party's performance in the polls.

Pratyusha Rajeswari polled 477,529 votes with Ray trailing her with 178,661 votes and Congress candidate Abhimanyu Behera in third spot with 90,536 votes. Behera from the Congress, which was in the second position in the last election, has lost his security deposit.

Chief Minister and party chairman Naveen Patnaik thanked the voters for this triumphant win of the party.

"I would like to thank the people of Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency for having bestowed the blessings so generously on the Biju Janata Dal. This shows the support of people of Odisha for the plans and policies of the BJD government," he told reporters after the results were announced.

Pratyusha's late husband had won the polls in May this year with a difference of 1.81 lakh votes. "I will fulfil the dreams of my late husband for developing Kandhamal," she said after the election results.

Though there were seven candidates testing their fate in the Kandhamal by-election, observers said, it was going to be a two corner contest between BJD and BJP, which was trying to gain ground by diving BJD votes.

To implement its strategy, BJP had roped in disgruntled BJD leader Ray, who was denied party ticket in the last general election. It had also tried to get tribal votes by drafting into the party Kui tribe leader and BJD supporter Lambodar Kanhar.

However, the saffron party seemed satisfied in its performance. "We were able to increase our vote percentage by 11 per cent within 11 days. Though we have not got the results we had expected, we were certainly able to increase our vote tally," said Bijaya Mohapatra, BJD leader and campaign committee head for Kandhamal by-poll. Congress, the main opposition party in Odisha, on the other hand, said, time has come to rethink its strategy in Odisha. "BJD won the election by using the government machinery and money power. Anyway, we need to review the situation why we are failing at all elections," said Jayadev Jena, head of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). The party could not get a single seat out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in May election.