Bhubaneswar: A total of five nominations for the upcoming Nuapada Assembly by-election were rejected during scrutiny due to technical errors, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, informed on Wednesday.
Those disqualified are Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Rajaram Sahu, Rashtriya Parivartan Dal candidate Sitaram Behera and three independent nominees — Kamal Kumar Chhatria, Purusottam Behera and Bhujabal Adabang.
With this, 14 candidates, including those of three major political parties of BJP, BJD and Congress, are in the fray for the bypoll scheduled for November 11.
According to the CEO, the nominations of Jay Dholakia of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Snehangini Chhuria of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Ghasiram Majhi of Congress party, Ramakant Hati of Samajwadi Party, Hemant Tandi of Bahujan Mukti Party, Sukadhar Dandasena of Odisha Janata Dal and eight independent nominees–Ashraya Mahanand, Chakrant Jena, Bhubanlal Sahu, Lochan Majhi, Kishore Kumar Bagh, Bhaktabandhu Dharua, Nita Bagh and Laxmikanta Tandi were found valid.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 24.
The Assembly constituency is set to witness a triangular contest. It will also be the first electoral test for Mohan Majhi-Manmohan Samal duo after the BJP historic win in the 2024 twin polls.
Congress nominee Ghasiram Majhi is a veteran tribal leader with a support base of his own and this was evident in the 2024 polls when he got more than 50,000 votes as an Independent to finish second behind Rajendra Dholakia, whose untimely demise necessitated the bypolls. His main challenger is the BJP, which has ‘imported’ a candidate from Dholakia’s lineage and the once probable BJD nominee to cash in on the sympathy wave. The BJD, which was caught off guard by the BJP’s move, fielded former minister and a popular leader from western Odisha, Snehangini Chhuria, with an eye on women voters and those from Schedule Caste community to which she belongs.
In the 2024 assembly election, Dholakia retained the seat with 61,822 votes, while Congress rebel Ghasiram Majhi, who contested as an Independent, polled 50,941 votes, emerging as a close runner-up. The Congress’s official nominee, Sarat Pattanayak, lagged far behind with 15,501 votes, while the BJP candidate Abhinandan Panda finished third, managing just over 440,814 votes.