The result of the by-election to the Bonai-B Zilla Parishad held on Friday has taken political watchers by surprise. Earlier this seat was represented by the BJD’s Dasharath Oram and after his murder the by-poll was held. Counting of votes was held on Saturday.
Though a large number of Ministers, MlAs, MPs and other frontline BJD leaders campaigned in the by-poll, party candidate Jitendriya Kissan lost to his Congress rival Charan Kissan miserably.
The election had turned out as a proxy contest between the Naveen Patnaik team and Congress leader and former Banai MlA Bhimsen Choudhury, who only spearheaded the Congress campaign.
As the elections to the Rourkela Municipal Corporation are likely to be held any time now, the Zilla Parishad by-poll was considered significant. It was because in the 2014 Assembly elections, out of the four constituencies under the Rourkela BJD district, the party had own only one seat, Raghunathpali.
Congress candidate Charan Kissan polled 6,092 votes out of 11,806 polled while BJD nominee Jitendriya Kissan got 5,115 in the ZP by-election.
It may be noted that in the Kuarmunda-A Zilla Parishad by-poll in September 2015, the BJD had also lost miserably, despite its all-out efforts, to the nominee of Biramitrapur Independent MlA George Tirkey.