Overview
- Election officials said Dholakia secured 1,23,869 votes (about 58%) to defeat Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi by 83,748 votes, with the BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria finishing third.
- Voter participation reached 83.45%, the highest turnout among the eight by-elections held nationwide.
- Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi hailed the verdict as a mandate for development and thanked voters, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the new MLA.
- BJD and Congress leaders alleged misuse of money and government machinery and questioned a late polling spike; Odisha’s chief electoral officer reported counting ended smoothly without disruptions.
- The bypoll followed the death of four-time BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia; his son Jay joined the BJP and won decisively as Congress moved to second place and BJD’s vote share fell sharply from its 2024 level.