BJP leader Jay Dholakia took the oath as a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Thursday. With Dholakia’s induction, the ruling saffron party’s tally in the 147-member House has risen to 79.
The BJD’s count has come down to 50 while the Congress has 14 MLAs, three are Independents, and one belongs to the CPI(M).
Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected Nuapada MLA during a special programme held at the Speaker’s chamber in the Assembly in Bhubaneswar.
Dholakia took the oath in the presence of senior leaders of the BJP. His mother, Kalpana Dholakia, and other family members were also present.
Dholakia chose to take the oath on the birth anniversary of his late father, senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Rajendra Dholakia. The by-election in Nuapada, held on November 11, was necessitated by his father’s passing.
After taking the oath, Dholakia said, “I thank Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and the Speaker for allowing me to take the oath on my father’s birth anniversary today, which is a memorable day for me. I have taken a pledge to work for the development of Nuapada district, and I thank Chief Minister Majhi on behalf of the people of Nuapada for taking responsibility for the district. The victory we secured on November 14 does not belong to me alone, but to the people of Nuapada, my father Rajendra Dholakia, and all the BJP workers at the district, state, and national levels.”
ଆଜି ପବିତ୍ର ବିଧାନସଭା ଗୃହରେ ମାନନୀୟା ବାଚସ୍ପତି ଶ୍ରୀମତୀ ସୁରମା ପାଢ଼ୀଙ୍କ ଉପସ୍ଥିତିରେ ନବ ନିର୍ବାଚିତ ନୂଆପଡ଼ାର ବିଧାୟକ ଭାବେ ଶପଥ ଗ୍ରହଣ କରିଥିବା ସ୍ବର୍ଗତଃ ରାଜୁ ଢୋଲକିଆଙ୍କ ସୁପୁତ୍ର ତଥା ଶ୍ରୀ ଜୟ ଢୋଲକିଆଙ୍କୁ ହାର୍ଦ୍ଦିକ ଶୁଭେଚ୍ଛା ଓ ଅଭିନନ୍ଦନ। ଏହି ଅବସରରେ ରାଜ୍ୟର ମାନନୀୟ ମନ୍ତ୍ରୀଗଣ, ବିଧାୟକଗଣ ଏବଂ ଅନ୍ୟାନ୍ୟ… pic.twitter.com/vmwyy5pDzP
— BJP Odisha (@BJP4Odisha) November 20, 2025
Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal expressed the confidence that Dholakia will work for the development of Nuapada as he promised during the polls.
BJP candidate Dholakia, who secured a total of 1,23,869 votes, defeated Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi by a margin of 83,748 votes. BJD nominee Snehangini Chhuria finished third with 38,408 votes in the bypoll, the results of which were declared on November 14.
The victory in the Nuapada by-election, secured by Jay Dholakia, is being interpreted as a significant endorsement of the 17-month-old government led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Jay Dholakia’s win also serves to re-establish the prominence of the Dholakia family in Nuapada politics. Jay’s father, the late Rajendra Dholakia, held the Nuapada Assembly seat four times, winning in 2000, 2009, 2019, and 2024. Although Rajendra Dholakia initially won in 2000 as an Independent, he later secured three victories representing the NJD.
However, Jay Dholakia charted a different course, switching his political allegiance to the BJP just prior to contesting the recent by-election.
Both the opposition BJD and the Congress have alleged massive violations of the Model Code of Conduct and manipulation of the election process by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through the misuse of government machinery during the bypoll.
