Pipili: Biju Janata Dal candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy Sunday secured an easy win in Pipili Assembly constituency by-poll by defeating his nearest rival BJP’s Ashrit Pattanayak by 20,916 votes.
According to official sources, while Maharathy got 96,972 votes, BJP’s Pattanayak received 76,056 votes. Congress came third with its candidate Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra securing 4,261 votes.
Ten candidates are in the fray for the by-poll which was either countermanded or deferred thrice before September 30. The by-election was necessitated by the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year.
Around 78.24 per cent of over 2.29 lakh voters had exercised their franchise in the by-poll September 30.
Incidentally, the date of counting of votes coincides with the first death anniversary of the sitting MLA, who had succumbed to Covid-19. He had defeated Ashrit Pattanayak by 15,787 votes in the 2019 elections.
PNN & Agencies