India, Nov. 14 -- BJP's Jay Dholakia swept the Nuapada assembly bypoll in Odisha by a margin of 83,748 votes against his Congress rival Ghasi Ram Majhi, transforming what was expected to be a closely contested triangular fight into a one-sided affair.

Dholakia, 32, the son of a former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader, secured 1,23,869 votes, around 59% of the total votes cast in the bypoll held on November 11. While Ghasi Ram Majhi came second with 40,121 votes, BJD's Snehangini Chhuria was at third position with 38,408 votes. The rest of the 11 candidates forfeited their security deposits.

The bypoll, necessitated by the death of four-term BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, assumed outsized significance as the first electoral test f...