Puri: In a setback to ruling BJD, opposition BJP has won the byelection to a Zilla Parishad zone in Odisha’s Puri district.
The results of the byelection held for zone 11 of the Zilla Parishad under Nimapara Assembly constituency in Gop block of the district were announced on Thursday. BJP candidate Pramod Kumar Ray was declared winner in the bypoll.
Ray defeated his nearest rival and BJD candidate Bhagirathi Senapati by 176 votes. The BJP candidate polled 11,240 votes in the bypoll which witnessed 23,650 voters casting their ballots. Pratap Chandra Pradhan of Congress won 1,024 votes.
The byelection was necessitated after BJD member from the zone Dharmendra Sahu allegedly committed suicide. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Das was embroiled in controversy surrounding the death of Sahu.
