June 6th 2024.
The recently concluded polls in Rourkela have brought joy to all the political parties in Sundargarh district. There was something to celebrate for everyone, be it BJD, BJP or the parties in the INDIA bloc. The Sundargarh Parliamentary seat remained in the hands of the saffron party as Jual Oram, the sitting BJP Member of Parliament, emerged victorious over his closest competitor Dilip Tirkey, the former captain of the Indian Hockey Team and the president of Hockey India, who was representing BJD.
Initially, it was speculated to be a tough fight with Dilip holding an advantage. However, the seasoned politician Jual, who is often referred to as the 'old war horse' of BJP, comfortably secured the seat. With a lead of more than 50,000 votes, Jual's victory was undeniable even with a few rounds of counting still remaining.
In Biramitrapur, the battle was neck and neck for a while as the lead kept shifting between the two parties. In the end, BJD's Rohit Joseph Tirkey emerged victorious over BJP's sitting MLA Shankar Oram. The fight for Raghunathpalli was equally close between BJD and BJP, with the latter's candidate Durga Tanty defeating BJD MLA Subrat Tarai's wife Archana Rekha Behera by a margin of 5,774 votes.
Moving on to the Talsara Assembly constituency, the sitting BJP MLA Bhimsen Bhoi managed to retain his seat by defeating BJD's Binaya Toppo by a margin of 15,673 votes. Talsara has always been a topic of interest for political analysts as it has a significant Christian tribal population, yet it has consistently elected a Hindu candidate. The INDIA bloc parties also made their mark by winning two Assembly seats. Congress' Rajan Ekka emerged victorious over BJP's Narasingha Minz, while CPM's Laxman Munda won for the third consecutive time from Bonai, defeating former BJD MLA Bhimsen Choudhury. At the end of 22 rounds of counting, Munda was leading by a comfortable margin of over 25,000 votes.
In Sundargarh, the battle for the Assembly seat was intense, with BJD's Yogesh Singh ultimately winning over BJP's Kusum Tete. Kusum, who had caused an upset in the previous elections, put up a valiant fight but was trailing by more than 8,000 votes with only two rounds remaining.
The most closely watched and fiercely contested Rourkela Assembly constituency saw the former minister and current MLA Sarada Nayak retaining his seat. He defeated BJP heavyweight and former central minister Dilip Ray in a nail-biting finish. Luck seemed to swing in BJP's favor at one point, but ultimately it was BJD who emerged victorious with Sarada gaining the lead in the last three rounds of counting. In the end, Sarada won by a margin of 3,552 votes.
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