In Odisha bypoll, BJP's Suryabanshi Suraj defeats BJD to retain Dhamnagar seat

Dhamnagar bypoll results: Suryabanshi Suraj got 80,351 votes, while Abanti Das secured 70,470 votes for the Dhamnagar bypoll in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.

BJP candidate Suryabanshi Suraj won the Dhamnagar assembly bypoll in Odisha against his nearest rival of the ruling BJD (Abanti Das) by 9,881 votes on Sunday. Suraj got 80,351 votes, while Das secured 70,470 votes for the Dhamnagar bypoll in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.

BJP candidate Suryabanshi Suraj

Congress nominee Baba Harekrushna Sethi got only 3,561 votes. An election official said a three-tier security arrangement is in place for the counting exercise.

A central supervisor, an assistant supervisor and a micro-observer are present along with party agents at the counting centre. The Dhamnagar seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi in September.

At least 68.98 per cent of the constituency’s 2,38,417 voters had cast their votes in 252 booths of Dhamnagar on November 3. Suraj, son of the deceased MLA, earlier said, “I am fighting the election from Dhamnagar as a local who knows about the place and people here.”

Sporadic violence was reported in Dhamnagar on Friday and Saturday. Three people, including a woman, were injured and a house was set on fire in the violence in Tihidi block, a police officer said. A father-daughter duo was attacked with iron rods by alleged supporters of a political party in Talagopabindha village on Friday night. They have been admitted to the Bhadrak district headquarters hospital, news agency PTI reported.

In another incident, a person claimed that he was attacked by supporters of a rival party on Saturday morning. A family at Kharapada gram panchayat alleged that their thatched house was set on fire "due to political reasons" by members of a party. Odisha's chief electoral officer (CEO) SK Lohani, however, said on Saturday he had no information on post-poll violence and would enquire about it from Bhadrak SP.