The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Jay Dholakia secured a decisive victory in the Nuapada assembly bypoll in Odisha, defeating his rivals by a significant margin.
Dholakia won the Nuapada assembly bypoll by a margin of 83,748 votes, defeating his nearest competitor, Ghasiram Majhi of the Congress party, election officials said.
This victory marks a major political shift, especially since the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which had won the seat in the 2024 general elections, was relegated to the third position.
Dholakia secured 1,23,869 votes (58.27 pc votes), while his nearest rival, Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi got 40,121 (18.88 pc) and Snehangini Chhuria of the BJD secured 38,408 votes (18.06 pc) against the party’s 33.65 per cent votes in 2024 elections.
The BJP’s vote count of 1,23,869 was nearly double the 61,822 votes his late father, Rajendra Dholakia, secured when he won the seat for the BJD last year.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Dholakia for winning the Nuapada bypoll 2025.
In a post on X, the PM said, “I thank the people of Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Nuapada in Odisha for blessing the BJP with spectacular victories in the by-polls. Congratulations to the newly elected MLAs Devyani Rana Ji and Jay Dholakia Ji. Wishing them the very best in serving the people. Compliments to the BJP Karyakartas who worked round the clock to ensure these wins. @BJP4JnK @BJP4Odisha.”
The defeat further dents the morale of the BJD, which lost power last year. The shift was largely attributed to Jay, the son of the late regional party MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose death necessitated the bypoll, joining BJP few days before the elections.
The win, the first electoral contest in the state since last year’s assembly election, is a significant moral boost for the BJP government under Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who visited Nuapada six times and extensively campaigned for BJP candidate Jay Dholakia, said the historic victory has ushered in a new chapter in the state’s political landscape.
Taking to X, Majhi said, “This victory proves the complete faith and trust of the general public in our government’s policies, ideals, and people-welfare programmes. The residents of Nuapada have completely rejected the smear campaigns and false promises of the opposition parties and, by supporting development, have given a clear mandate in favour of the BJP.”
Addressing the party men and women at the state BJP headquarters in Bhubaneswar, CM Majhi said apart from the good governance in last 17 months, the Opposition BJD’s ‘jealousy’ proved fatal for the regional outfit headed by Naveen Patnaik.
“Naveen Babu uttering word like ‘Beiman’ (traitor) against late Rajendra Dholakia’s family did not go well among the people. They have given befitting reply to the BJD in the bypoll,” Majhi said.
During his campaign, Patnaik had accused the ruling BJP of indulging in ‘candidate chori’.
Patnaik fielded the BJD’s women wing president, Snehangini Chhuria, in Nuapada. Majhi, on the other hand, had called Chhuria an ‘outsider’, as she hails from neighbouring Bargarh district.
The Congress party securing the second position is seen as significant, as it hopes to replace the BJD as the state’s principal opposition.
Patnaik congratulated party workers for their efforts and reminded them that they followed the ideology of Biju Patnaik, “who himself was a fighter”.
The bypoll recorded the highest turnout of 83.45 per cent and the largest winning margin of 83,748 votes among all eight nationwide by-elections held concurrently.
Of the 14 candidates in the fray, 11 lost their deposits.
Jay Dholakia’s tally of 1,23,869 votes was nearly double that of his father, who had won the seat last year with 61,822 votes and a margin of 10,881.
Overwhelmed over his stunning victory, Jay said, “I thank the people of Nuapada, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Mohan Charan Majhi and all senior leaders and workers. I will visit Lord Jagannath temple soon to seek blessings.”
“Under Modi’s ideals and guidance, our government has been working tirelessly day and night for the welfare of Odisha’s residents and the state’s development in the past nearly one-and-a-half years. The support of Nuapada’s residents has given us new inspiration and strength,” he said.
ନୂଆପଡ଼ାବାସୀ ବିକାଶକୁ ସମର୍ଥନ କରି ବିଜେପିକୁ ଏକ ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ ଜନାଦେଶ ଦେଇଛନ୍ତି। ନୂଆପଡ଼ା ନିର୍ବାଚନ ମଣ୍ଡଳୀର ପ୍ରତ୍ୟେକ ଜନସାଧାରଣଙ୍କୁ କୃତଜ୍ଞତା ଓ ନୂଆପଡ଼ାର ନବନିର୍ବାଚିତ ବିଧାୟକ ଶ୍ରୀ ଜୟ ଢୋଲକିଆଙ୍କୁ ହାର୍ଦ୍ଦିକ ଅଭିନନ୍ଦନ ଓ ଶୁଭେଚ୍ଛା । pic.twitter.com/6UEm7pNnne
— Mohan Charan Majhi (@MohanMOdisha) November 14, 2025
BJP state president Manmoahn Samal thanked the people of Nuapada for choosing “development”.
“Nuapada has several problems which could not be resolved by either the BJD or Congress. Therefore, people supported the BJP, which is committed to developing the area,” he told reporters.
BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, who was in charge of the bypoll for the party, expressed surprise over the margin and alleged that the election was manipulated.
“It is a huge margin, which proves gross manipulation of the election by the BJP, using the government machinery. Though we pointed out several irregularities, the EC observers who were supposed to remain neutral also became mute spectators,” he alleged.
Congress candidate Majhi, who was the runner-up in the 2024 assembly polls in the seat, alleged that “money played a major role” in the by-election.
“Though my position was very good all along electioneering, the situation changed during the last few days due to the money factor. Money is not god, but nothing less than god,” he said.
Odisha CEO RS Gopalan in a statement said, “The vote counting process concluded smoothly, peacefully, and without any disruptions.”
