BHUBANESWAR: Newly-elected representative of Dhamnagar constituency Suryabanshi Suraj took oath as member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha administered oath to the 27-year-old Suraj, son of former MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi, in his office chamber in presence of leader of Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra, chief whip of BJP legislature party Mohan Charna Majhi, BJP MLA Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, Assembly secretary Dasarathi Satpathy and others.
After the oath ceremony, the BJP first timer to the Assembly sought blessings of the speaker by touching his feet. Before entering the Assembly, Suraj bowed at the steps of the main entrance to the House as a mark of respect to the ‘temple of democracy’. A graduate in computer science, Suraj is the youngest member of the Assembly. He won the Dhamnagar seat on November 6 by defeating his nearest rival of the BJD Abanti Das by 9,881 votes.
The by-election to the Dhamnagar constituency in Bhadrak district was necessitated after the demise of his father. After taking oath, Suraj said he is indebted to the people of Dhamnagar for showering their love and the party for reposing faith on him.
“I am grateful to the people of Dhamnagar for their unconditional love and affection. I did nothing as it was a fight for the prestige of Dhamnagar. It was a difficult time for me and I went to the people to seek their blessings. They showered their love and it is time to pay back the debt,” he said.
Before the oath taking ceremony, the newly elected lawmaker was given a rousing reception by state BJP president Samir Mohanty and party functionaries at the party state headquarters here. Members of the BJP core committee congratulated him for his success through virtual platform.