BHUBANESWAR: Dipali Das, newly elected BJD MLA, takes oath:- Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Dipali Das took the oath of office as an Odisha Assembly member on Monday, May 15, just two days after sweeping to victory in the Jharsuguda Assembly by-election.

Dipali was sworn in as speaker of the state assembly in Bhubaneswar by deputy speaker Rajanikanta Singh after speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha abruptly resigned from his job.

Her family members were with the newly elected lawmaker. Rita Sahu and Pramila Mallick, two female ministers, were also present, as were government chief whip Prasanta Muduli, BJD MLAs Pranab Balabantaray, Ananta Narayan Jena, and Susant Rout.

Dipali promised the Jharsuguda people that she would commit her life to their service while speaking to the media. Will work honestly to further my constituency's growth and realise my father's (Naba Kishore Das) dreams. It is important to note that on Sunday night, Dipali and her brother Vishal Das visited Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik at his home to ask for his blessing.

By more over 48,721 votes, Dipali defeated her closest BJP opponent Tankadhar Tripathy to win the seat. With only 4,496 votes, Tarun Pandey of the Congress came in third place.

As per the results made public by the Indian Election Commission, Dipali received 1,07,198 votes whereas Tripathy of the BJP received 58,477.

Following the assassination of Dipali's father and the previous health minister, Naba Kishore Das, on January 29, this year, a by-election was held.

Odisha: BJD leads over 15,000 votes in Jharsuguda

Odisha: BJD leads over 15,000 votes in Jharsuguda