Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gets every reasons to smile, as BJD candidate Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh emerged victorious in Kandhamal Lok Sabha bypoll by a huge margin of 298,868 votes. The CM thanked the people of Kandhamal for reposing faith in the party and its agenda.

In the polls held in April 2014, late Hemendra Singh had defeated the Congress candidate Harihar Karan by 1.81 lakh votes. BJP candidate Sukant Panigrahi had lost the deposits and finished third. However, BJP candidate Rudra Madhab Ray secured the second spot this time while Congress declined to third position.

In the bypoll, Hemendra Singh’s wife Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh secured 477,529 votes, while Rudra Madhab Ray got 178,661 votes. Congress candidate Abhimanyu Behera managed to get 90,536 votes. At least 11,053 people voted for NOTA.