Puri Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 Highlights: BJP’s Sambit Patra wins by 1,04,709 votes, defeats BJD’s Arup Patnaik

The counting of votes to determine the fate of Sambit Patra (BJP), Jayanarayan Pattanayak (INC) and Arup Mohan Patnaik (BJD) has come to an end. BJP's Sambit Patra wins by 1,04,709 votes, defeating BJD's Arup Patnaik, as per ECI data. Patra bagged 629330 votes and Patnaik got 524621 votes.

BJP candidate Sambit Patra leads from the Puri Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha. He has so far bagged 2.52,216 votes, while BJD candidate Arup Mohan Pattnaik is trailing with 2,06,379 votes. The margin is 45,837 votes, as per Election Commission of India data as of 12:58 PM.

The prospects of the Congress, which has a sizeable support base in its Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sucharita Mohanty dropped out of the contest citing the alleged denial of funding by the party. Hours later, the party named its Puri district unit chief Jay Narayan Patnaik, an advocate, as Mohanty’s replacement. Though Patnaik has been associated with the Congress for the past few years, he will make his electoral debut in this election. The constituency, is currently held by the Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Pinaki Misra.

The counting of votes has commenced to determine the fate of Sambit Patra (BJP), Jayanarayan Pattanayak (INC) and Arup Mohan Patnaik (BJD). Early trends from ECI reveals that Patra is leading by 6536. Meanwhile, Patnaik is trailing.

During the election campaign, both BJP and BJP engaged in a bitter war of words. It began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks about the health of BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. At a BJP rally in Mayurbhanj, PM Modi expressed concern over reports of Patnaik's "failing health" in the last decade. He also claimed that he said his government would constitute a committee to probe if Patnaik's close aids are "conspiring against him".

Naveen Patnaik rebutted the Prime Minister's remark, saying that if he was so concerned about his health, he should have spoken to him.

Moreover, Sambit Patra's slip-of-tongue when he called Lord Jagannath a devotee of PM Modi. The remarks caused a massive furor and the BJP faced criticism from various opposition parties at the national level. On May 22, a full-page newspaper advertisement, featuring an unconditional apology from Sambit Patra, caught the attention of readers in Odisha on the morning of May 22.

Such a public apology from a politician is rare. However, it highlights the deep cultural and spiritual importance of Puri in Odisha.

India Today-Axis My India exit poll has predicted that BJP leader Sambit Patra is strongly placed in the Puri Lok Sabha contest in Odisha, which may end the 15-year stronghold of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the constituency. The exit polls suggest that Sambit Patra has emerged as a strong contender in what is considered to be a triangular electoral contest in the pilgrimage town. Patra is giving a close fight to BJD's Arup Patnaik and Congress's Jay Narayan Patnaik in Puri, the survey predicted.

In 2014, Pinaki Mishra of the BJD emerged victorious with 523,161 votes, maintaining the party's grip on the constituency. The Congress candidate, Suchitra Mohanty, secured the second position with 289,800 votes.

Good morning! Welcome to our live coverage of the 2024 Lok Sabha Election. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am today. Here we will provide all the latest happenings from the electoral battle that will unfold today. Stay tuned to get all updates from the Puri constituency.