Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Barsha Singh Bariha registered an emphatic win over Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pradip Purohit in the Padmapur Assembly bypoll in Odisha on Thursday.
Putting all speculation about a close fight to rest, Ms. Bariha won by a massive margin of 42,679 votes by polling 1,20,807 votes, while Mr. Purohit got 78,128 votes. Veteran Congress leader Satya Bhusan Sahu lost his security deposit as he secured only 3,594 votes (1.73%) [A candidate loses the election deposit if he/she fails to get at least one-sixth of the total votes polled] . The None Of The Above (NOTA) option was exercised by 2,087 voters.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of incumbent MLA, Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha. Ms. Bariha is his eldest daughter.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Ms. Bariha over telephone and congratulated her on the spectacular victory.
Since the counting began in the morning, the BJD candidate remained ahead of the BJP nominee. A newcomer in electoral politics, Ms. Bariha polled 58% of the votes. Mr. Purohit received 37.51% of the popular votes, managing to hold on to his previous vote percentage of 38.45% in 2019.
The biggest fall was in the case of the Congress, which was nearly reduced to a non-entity this time. In 2019, Mr. Sahu had polled 32,787 votes.
“We accept the outcome of the Padmapur bypoll. We pay gratitude to all voters who voted for our party. Respecting people’s verdict, we will try to win the trust of people through welfare programmes and people connect,” said senior BJP leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Political analysts were attaching huge importance to the Padmapur byelection with both the BJD and the BJP predicting that the winner would carry the momentum to the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
In November, the BJP won the Dhamnagar bypoll creating a huge buzz in political circles. There was an impression at that time that the ruling BJD had lost its grip over the electorate.
Focused campaign
The ruling party had begun its campaign in Padmapur on a nervous note. It followed the BJP’s winning formula in the Dhamnagar bypoll and fielded Ms. Bariha, daughter of the deceased MLA, to garner sympathy votes. Besides, there was inherent objective to corner votes of the dominant Binjhal tribe to which the BJD candidate belonged to.
A delegation from Padmapur had met the Odisha Chief Minister in the run-up to the poll and they were assured that Padmapur would be recognised as a separate district. The announcement was considered a masterstroke creating a wave in favour of the BJD.
Besides, the BJD also reached out to different castes and communities with assurances of land in Puri and Bhubaneswar. A focused campaign by the BJD leadership, including Mr. Patnaik’s three public meetings in the constituency, and efficient micromanagement resulted in a comprehensive victory. On the other hand, the BJP could not match the organisational strength of the regional party.
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