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BJP's Sambit Patra wins from Odisha's Puri constituency by 1,04,709 vote margin
BJP's Sambit Patra won against BJD's Arup Mohan Patnaik from the Puri constituency in Odisha by a margin of 1,04,709 votes
Firebrand spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sambit Patra, won from Odisha’s Puri constituency, against BJD's Arup Mohan Patnaik, in the Lok Sabha election by 1,04,709 votes according to the Election Commission of India.
This is Patra’s second electoral bid from the constituency. In 2019, the BJP leader was defeated by a narrow margin of 1.03% votes by BJD’s three-time MP Pinaki Mishra, who secured a vote share of 47.4%.
Read more: Election Results LIVE Updates
Patra began his political journey in 2010, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a spokesperson for the Delhi unit. In 2012, he ran in the municipal election from Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate as a BJP candidate but lost.
He had also actively campaigned for the party in the run-up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections. After the BJP secured power, he was appointed as the party’s national spokesperson.
Read more: Odisha Election Results LIVE Updates
In 2017, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) named him a non-official director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).
The 49-year-old politician completed his MBBS from Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Sambalpur in 1997 and Master of Surgery from Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in 2002.
In 2003, he passed the Combined Medical Services Examination conducted by the UPSC and subsequently joined Hindu Rao Hospital as a medical officer, serving there until 2012.
In May, Patra stirred a political row when he said Lord Jagannath, a revered deity in Puri, was Prime Minister Modi’s Bhakt (disciple). He later apologised saying that it was a slip of tongue and he had only “aimed to highlight PM Modi’s devotion to Lord Jagannath.”
Read more: Counting of votes will be done in 70 centres across Odisha today
On May 22, he took out a full-page newspaper advertisement in Odisha expressing regret for his ‘slip of tongue.’
Puri comprises seven assembly segments including Pipili, Nayagarh, Puri, Bramhagiri, Satyabadi, Chilika, and Ranpur. It went to polls in the sixth phase on May 25 and recorded a voter turnout of 73.81%.
The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
