Odisha: BJD's Rudra Pratap Maharathy wins Pipili by-poll by over 20,000 votes

Ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy won the Pipili Assembly constituency of Odisha on Sunday in the by-polls, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The BJD candidate defeated his nearest rival Ashrit Pattnaik of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a margin of 20,916 votes.

Maharathy secures a total of 96,972 votes, while Pattnaik received 76,056 votes in his vote bank. Congress put forth Bishwokeshan Harichandan as their candidate for the Pipili bypolls. He bagged 4261 votes.

The by-poll was necessitated following the death of BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year due to which the seat fell vacant.

BJD's Rudrapratap Maharathy, BJP's Ashrit Patnaik and Congress' Biswhwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra were among the total of ten candidates that were in the fray.

Counting of votes for the by-poll, held in Pipili Assembly constituency in Odisha earlier this week, began on Sunday amid tight security arrangements.

The by-poll was first scheduled to take place on April 17, but it had been countermanded following the death of the then Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj who succumbed to Covid-19, three days before polling. Voting was deferred again on May 13 and May 16.

( With inputs from ANI )