Dhenkanal: The BJP claimed the Dhenkanal Municipality Chairman post after party candidate Sudhanshu Dalei was elected through lottery after the voting ended in a tie. Out of the 23 councillor votes, only 18 were present. Sudhanshu along with independent candidate Rudranta Dalei got 9 votes each resulting in a tie.
11 councillors from Congress, 5 from BJP and 1 out of 6 BJD councillors were present in during voting.
“I feel that the people of Dhenkanal town have their blessings on me and have shown belief in me. Looking at the poor track record of the municipality in the recent past, the people of the town were looking for good governance and leadership. I have the confidence and experience and will try hard to ensure civic development of the town,” said Sudhanshu Dalei.
The by-election for the post was necessitated after Dhenkanal Municipality chairman Indramani Behera was defeated in a Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion on August 1. After hearing of a writ petition over the issue filed in the High Court, the State Election Commission decided to conduct the election.