Bhubaneswar, Jul 24 (IANS): Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday won the Patkura Assembly seat, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 17,920 votes.
BJD candidate Sabitri Agarwalla bagged 96,017 votes, while BJP nominee Bijoy Mohapatra came second with 78,097 votes. Congress continued its dismal show as party candidate Jayanta Kumar Mohanty received mere 2,104 votes.
Kendrapara District Collector Samarth Verma announced the result. The polling for the seat was held on July 20 after being postponed twice in the past few months.
With this, the bid of Mohapatra, a bete noire of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, to enter the Odisha Assembly has failed. He has unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls in the last two decades.
Mohapatra, a former minister, had played a key role in the BJD's formation after former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik's death in 1997.
BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thanked the people for the mandate. He also congratulated the BJD candidate and party workers.
"I thank the people of my constituency and Chief Minister Patnaik for having faith in me. I will try my best to serve the people," said Agarwalla.
The poll, scheduled on April 29, was cancelled following the death of BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla on April 20. Later, it was postponed due to cyclone Fani.
The BJD had bagged 112 of the 146 Assembly seats in the recently concluded Assembly polls. It also won 12 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats.