Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal on Wednesday won the Patkura Assembly constituency by defeating the BJP by a margin of over 17,000 votes. The Congress finished third in the election held on July 20.
BJD nominee Sabitri Agarwalla bagged 96,017 votes, while BJP’s Bijoy Mohapatra secured 78,097 and lost yet another battle to enter the State Assembly. Jayanta Mohanty of the Congress secured only 2,104 votes and lost his deposit.
Mohapatra’s loss
Mr. Mohapatra, who won from Patkura four times — 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995 — was a member of late Biju Patnaik’s Council of Ministers in his last term as Chief Minister.
Although he was a founder-member of the BJD, Mr. Mohapatra failed to contest the 2000 Assembly polls when the party cancelled his ticket at the last minute. He lost all elections in the subsequent years.
In 2001, he formed the Odisha Gana Parishad, which he later merged with the Nationalist Congress Party. He joined the BJP when the NCP turned an ally of the BJD before the 2009 polls. Mr. Mohapatra quit the BJP in November last, but returned to the party again before this year’s general election.
Polling in Patkura, which was initially scheduled for April 29 as part of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State, was first adjourned due to the death of the BJD nominee and former Minister Bed Prakash Agarwalla, the husband of Ms. Agarwalla.
The Election Commission had fixed May 19 as the next date of polling, but it was postponed again due to Cyclone Fani that hit the State’s coast on May 3.
The seat witnessed high-voltage campaigning, with senior leaders from the three major parties holding meetings to woo voters. BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik campaigned for Ms. Agarwalla for a day, apart from engaging a majority of his Ministers and party MLAs to ensure the defeat of Mr. Mohapatra, often referred to as his bête noire.
Ms. Agarwalla thanked the people of Patkura for electing her. BJD leaders and workers celebrated the victory by taking out a procession from the BJD headquarters in Bhubaneswar to Naveen Niwas, the residence of their party president.
Mr. Patnaik expressed his gratitude to the people of Patkura for electing the BJD nominee and assured that development of the constituency will be given priority.
