The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has won the Athgarh by-election in Odisha. BJD's Ranendra Pratap Swain defeated nearest rival Suresh Mohapatra of Congress by 47,390 votes. Ranendra Pratap Swain polled 87,604 votes, while Mohapatra polled 40,214 votes. BJP's Bikram Das could manage to get only 2,452 votes in the by-poll held on 18th of this month. Ranendra Pratap Swain had earlier represented Athgarh Assembly constituency for four times.The re-polling in Athagarh was held following a direction from the Supreme Court. BJD's Ranendra Pratap Swain's nomination papers were rejected in the 2009 Assembly elections against which he went to the Odisha High Court which directed re-polling in Athgarh. The Supreme Court also upheld the decision of the Odisha High Court. In the 2009 election, an independent candidate, Ramesh Rout, backed by BJD had won from Athgarh.