Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Deepali Das on Monday took oath as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), two days after her spectacular victory in Jharsuguda bypoll in Odisha.
She was administered the oath by Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Assembly Rajnikant Singh in his office chamber in the presence of ministers Pramila Mallik and Rita Sahu.
Deepali, daughter of slain minister Naba Kishore Das whose death necessitated the by-election in Jharsuguda, registered a landslide victory defeating her nearest BJP candidate Tankadhar Tripathy by a margin of 48,721 votes.
She polled 1,07,198 votes, while BJP’s Tankadhar got 58,477 votes. Congress nominee Tarun Pandey lost his deposits with only 4,496 votes in the bypoll held on May 10.
“I will work hard to fulfill the unfulfilled dream of my late father Naba Das. The development process in Jharsuguda starts from now”, said Deepali after taking oath.
Ahead of taking oath, she reached the Assembly along with her mother and brother. Deepali had met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and sought his blessings.
Hailing Naveen as a father figure, Deepali said she will work earnestly to complete all developmental works her father had initiated, including heart and cancer hospitals and over bridge project.
It may be noted that the Chief Minister, who is also the BJD preaident, had hit the campaign trail in Jharsuguda on May 7 to bolster the prospects of the party candidate.
