BJD retains Pipili assembly constituency in Odisha as Rudra Pratap Maharathy wins by margin of 20,196 votes

Puri: The ruling BJD headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Sunday retained the Pipili Assembly segment with its candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy winning the by-polls, defeating his nearest rival Ashrit Pattnaik of the BJP by 20,916 votes, the Election Commission said. Maharathy was declared winner in the by-election, polling for which was held on 30 September, the returning officer said. While the BJD candidate secured 96,972 votes, the BJP nominee got 76,056 votes. Congress candidate Biswokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra, who managed only 4,261 votes, lost his security deposit in the by-poll contested by a total of 10 candidates, the EC said. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year. Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote in Odia: “I thank the people of Pipili from the core of my heart for giving massive support to BJD candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy. I also congratulate all the party workers and leaders. BJD is yours. We are always dedicated to serving the people.” EC sources said 1,80,037 votes were polled through EVMs, and another 893 votes were cast through postal ballots. As many as 831 people cast their votes under NOTA. While the BJD secured 53.6 per cent votes, the BJD got 42 percent and the Congress 2.4 percent, of the 1,80,930 votes polled through EVMs and postal ballots. Meanwhile, BJP state unit president Samir Mohanty thanked the people of Pipili for having faith in the saffron party, even as its candidate lost the elections. In a statement, he said more voters have this time exercised their franchise in favour of the BJP candidate in comparison to the previous election in 2019. The Congress, accepting defeat, said, the party reiterates its commitment to fight for the interests of the people. Rudra Pratap won the seat with a margin more than his late father Pradeep Maharathy’s 15,787 vote difference in the 2019 general elections in Pipili. The senior Maharathy had also defeated the same BJP candidate, Ashrit Pattnaik. Incidentally, Rudra Pratap’s victory came on the day of his father’s first death anniversary. “The voters are my ‘malik’ (master) and I am their ‘sevak’ (servant). As I have mentioned earlier, I am here to serve the people of Pipili. Whether I am elected as the MLA or not, I would have stood by them always,” Rudra Pratap, 32, said. He said the people of the Pipili-Delang area had been anxiously waiting for their representative in the assembly for a year. With the victory in Pipili, the BJD’s winning spree continued following the triumphs in the by-polls held at Bijepur, Balasore and Tirtol, after the 2019 general elections. The by-election results will certainly have a positive impact on the ensuing panchayat polls, said BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra.