Bhubaneswar, Oct 19 (IANS): Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Sunday took early lead in by-election to the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat.
BJD's Pratyusha Rajeswari had secured over 80,000 votes and was ahead of BJP's Rudra Madhav Ray and Congress' Abhimanyu Behera, officials said.
Ray had about 33,000 votes in his kitty and Behera about 12,000.
The by-polls were held Oct 15. It was necessitated following the death of BJD's Hemendra Chandra Singh. Rajeswari is his widow.
The Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency covers seven assembly seats spread over four districts: Kandhamal, Boudh, Nayagarh and Ganjam.