BJP today bagged the

BJP today bagged the

Municipality Chairman's post in Dhenkanal with party candidate Sudhanshu Dalai being declared elected through a draw of lottery after voting ended in a tie.

Of the 23 councillors, 18 participted in the by-poll held for the post in which BJP's Sudhanshu Dalai and Rudranta Dalai of Congress secured 9 votes each, according to sub-collector and returning officer A Patnaik.

As there was a tie, draw of lottery was held and Sudhanshu was declared elected by the returning officer.

Eleven councillors from Congress, 5 from BJP, one from BJD and another independent participated in the by-election. The result showed there was cross voting.
 

The by-election was necessitated after Dhenkanal Municipality Chairman Indramani Behera was defeated in a Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion on August 1.

However, Dalai would not be able to take charge of office till final order is delivered in a writ petition in Orissa High Court, the returning officer said.

The State Election Commission decided only to conduct the by-election, he said.