Dhamnagar by-poll result: BJP wins, rebel BJD candidate becomes game changer

Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) witnessed a major setback after opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won Dhamnagar by-election by defeating the BJD candidate on Sunday.

BJP candidate Suryabanshi Suraj registered the victory in the Dhamnagar assembly seat by defeating BJD candidate Abanti Das by 9,881 votes.

While Suraj bagged 80,351 votes, his nearest rival candidate Abanti Das polled 70,470 votes.

Rajendra Kumar Das, who was contesting as an Independent candidate after being denied a BJD ticket, got 8,153 votes. Former MLA Rajendra Das become the game changer in the Dhamnagar by-poll.

 Congress candidate Baba Harekrushna Sethi polled 3,561 votes.

Suraj is the son of former Dhamnagar MLA Bishnu Sethi whose death necessitated the bypoll.

As per the ECI website, Suraj got 49.09% votes and Das bagged 43.05% votes. Rajendra Das got around 5% votes and the Congress candidate Sethi received 2.18% votes.