The bypoll has been necessitated following the death of BJD veteran and former minister Pradeep Maharathy in October 2020
Subhashish Mohanty, Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister and ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik’s popularity will be on test once again when the by-election for the Pipili Assembly constituency takes place on Thursday.
The bypoll will be followed by elections to the panchayat and municipal corporations early next year. The by-election in Pipili will be the last election for an Assembly seat in the state before the general elections in 2024.
The bypoll in Pipili has been necessitated following the death of BJD veteran and former minister Pradeep Maharathy in October 2020. It is being held after being postponed twice, once on account of the death of Congress candidate Ajit Managaraj and again for the Covid-induced lockdown.
As many as 10 candidates are in the fray for the bypoll. The main fight will be between the BJD, which has fielded Maharathy’s son Rudra Pratap as its candidate, and the BJP, which has fielded Ashrit Pattanayak, a Congress dissident. The Congress has brought in a new face Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra into the battlefield.
Prominent BJP leaders, including Union minister Dharemendra Pradhan, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, former Union minister Pratap Sarangi and BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra had campaigned for the party candidate Ashrit. The Assembly seat is part of the Puri Lok Sabha constituency from where Patra had contested and lost last time.
However, Naveen did not campaign for the BJD candidate this time and allowed his party leaders to canvass for Rudra Pratap by adhering to Covid guidelines.
“The chief minister’s popularity is soaring day by day. No one can match him. His work for the development of women through Mission Shakti, and the welfare schemes for the poor, particularly the Biju Swasthya Kalyan card, will help the party win not only this by-election but the coming elections for panchayat and municipalities as well,” BJD general secretary Bijay Nayak told the journalist. Source: The Telegraph
