BJD's Rudra Pratap Maharathy wins Pipili by-poll by over 20,000 votes

Puri, Oct 03: Ruling BJD candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy won the Pipili by-poll on Sunday, defeating his nearest rival Ashrit Pattnaik of the BJP by over 20,000 votes, the Election Commission said.

Maharathy secured 96,972 votes, while Pattnaik bagged 76,056 votes. Congress nominee Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra got 4,261 votes, the EC said.

Ten candidates were in the fray for the by-poll, which was necessitated by the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year.