The recent by-election in Nuapada has turned into a major setback for the Congress party in Odisha, with candidate Ghasiram Majhi failing to capitalise on his personal vote bank despite running under the party’s banner.

Although the Congress doubled its vote count from the previous election, Majhi could not even match the votes he secured as an independent just 18 months ago, raising questions about the party’s strategy and leadership.

In the 2014 elections, Majhi, as a Congress candidate, garnered 39,654 votes. By 2019, after being denied a ticket, he contested independently and secured 45,317 votes, finishing second. In the 2024 general elections, then-PCC President Sarat Pattanayak contested from Nuapada and managed only around 15,000 votes. Later that year, Majhi again ran as an inde

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