Odisha : BJP at number three, Dharmendra Pradhan’s campaign did not even work, BJD won the by-election with a huge margin
In the by-elections for the Brajrajnagar assembly seat in Odisha, the BJP stood at number three. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Alka Mohanty has won by defeating Congress candidate by more than 66 thousand votes. BJP had fielded Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for campaigning in the by-elections but that too did not work. The situation has become such that BJP has come in third place.
Bypolls to this seat were held after the death of BJD MLA Kishore Mohanty in December 2021. The BJD itself Kishore Mahanti’s wife Alka Mahanti was fielded. Mohanty won the election by a margin of 93,790 votes, defeating the opposition parties.
Improvement in Congress’s performance
For the first time since the 2019 general elections, the performance of the Congress has shown an improvement. In the election, Congress candidate former Forest Minister Kishor Patel secured the second position by securing 27,565 votes, while former BJP MLA Radharani Panda stood third with 22,316 votes.
The BJD candidate was already expected to win in the election, but no one had any idea that the BJP candidate Radharani Panda’s deposit would be forfeited in the election. Radharani had won from this seat in the 2014 assembly elections.
Why is this defeat shameful for BJP?
This defeat of BJP is also being called shameful because Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was camping in the constituency for two days to win the seat. According to party sources, the lack of workers on the ground and poor election management ruined the party’s chances of performing well in the bypolls.
This move of Congress blew lives among workers
On the other hand, Congress workers appeared united for their candidate after AICC replaced Sharat Patnaik as the state PCC chief in place of Niranjan Patnaik. This is the reason why the Congress party did not win the election but has definitely left the BJP behind. Captured BJP’s vote bank.
