Bhubaneswar, Nov 16 (IANS) Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday stated that the Congress will introspect to identify the causes of the defeat and will also take action against those involved in anti-party activities during the recently concluded Nuapada bypolls.

Speaking to media persons, Das said that there is a need for introspection in the party to find out the failures in the by-election and the party’s members who were involved in anti-party activities during the polls. The OPCC president clarified that stringent action will be taken against all those found engaged in anti-party activities during the polls.

He further claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent huge money and engaged several ministers and leaders from Odisha and the neighbouring Chhattisgarh, including the Chief Ministers of both states, to win the Nuapada bypolls.

“Despite the massive misuse of power and large-scale distribution of money, the people of Nuapada gave Congress over 40,000 votes, and we express our gratitude to them for this. We are fully satisfied that we have achieved something that we never did in the past,” the OPCC president asserted.

Meanwhile, Senior BJP leader and the law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, while taking a dig at the OPCC president, said, “Those who face defeat usually present several alibis to hide their faults and weaknesses. Instead of getting engaged in tall talks, it would be better for both BJD and Congress to accept that they had been rejected by the people.”

It is pertinent here to mention that BJP candidate Jay Dholakia, who secured a total of 1,23,869 votes, defeated Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi by a margin of 83,748 votes. The BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria secured the third position with 38408 votes.

BJP snatched away the Nuapada seat from BJD, increasing its tally to 79 in the state Assembly with a total of 147 seats.

Notably, the Nuapada Assembly seat had fallen vacant after the death of four-time MLA Rajendra Dholakia, father of newly elected BJP MLA Jay Dholakia, in September this year.

–IANS

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