Insight Bureau: As expected, BJD Candidate Sanghamitra Dalai has been elected Mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) by defeating BJP candidate Sabita Suar by a margin of 20, 286 votes.

Sanghamitra secured 66,068 votes while Sabita got 45,782 votes. The BJD vs BJP was on the expected lines. However, what was not expected? It’s the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Berhampur.

C Priyanka, a 25-year-old MBA student from Khallikote College, Berhampur, surprised the poll pundits with her style of campaigning. She reached out to the masses and conveyed them of AAP’s agenda. In the end, she finished 3rd with 7453 votes and polled more votes than the Congress candidate Manju Rath (6768).

She lost the polls, but she won the hearts and made everyone proud and boosted the morale of AAP cadres across Odisha.