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Odisha: BJD wins Jharsuguda assembly bypoll, its 6th victory after 2019 election
The Jharsuguda assembly bypoll was necessitated following the murder of former Odisha health minister Naba Das by an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police in January
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha scored its sixth bypoll victory after 2019 assembly election as party candidate Deepali Das trounced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Tankadhar Tripathy by over 48,000 votes in Jharsuguda Assembly bypoll, the results of which were declared on Saturday.
Das, the 26-year-old daughter of former Odisha health minister Naba Das, secured a total of 1,07,003 votes while Tripathy managed to poll 58,384 votes in his favour. Congress candidate Tarun Pandey got 4,473 votes. An MBA from EU Business School in Barcelona, Das is the youngest-ever MLA of Odisha.
The bypoll was necessitated following the murder of Naba Das by an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police in January. ASI Gopal Das had shot dead the minister from a close range at Brajarajnagar town of Jharsuguda on January 29 when the latter was stepping out of his car to address a meeting. The bullet pierced the minister’s heart and he was declared dead 10 hours later at a hospital in Bhubaneswar. The mystery over the motive of the murder continues to endure even as a CID probe is underway.
“It is due to the love and blessings of the people that I have been able to win the election with a huge margin. I will meet chief minister Naveen Patnaik soon. I will fulfil the commitment made to the people. I will also fulfil the dreams of my late father Naba Das,” said Das.
Targeting the BJP after the results, Patnaik said, “Single engine or double engine is not important. From people’s point of view, governance is important. Pro-people’s governance always wins. Those who insult people of Odisha by calling lawlessness are working against our state.”
Senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya said, “The results were expected as the voters had already decided to bless the BJD candidate Dipali Das. The credit goes to the voters of Jharsuguda for their matured decision and the efforts of our workers.”
State BJP president Manmohan Samal said the party will review the bypoll results and try to fix the loopholes and improve its performance in coming elections.
After the results were declared, a BJP worker was reportedly stabbed in Sunamala village under Sadar Block. The victim was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital.
The Jharsuguda win would be the BJD’s 6th bypoll victory after the 2019 assembly polls. Earlier, the party won the Assembly bypolls held in Bijepur, Balasore, Tirtol, Pipili and Brajarajnagar constituencies. It, however, lost to the BJP in Dhamnagar assembly bypoll.
