Bhubaneswar: The BJP on Thursday announced a team of 40 star campaigners to rally support for its candidate Jay Dholakia in the upcoming Nuapada Assembly by-election in Odisha
The list includes Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram and Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, besides state BJP president Manmohan Samal and popular film stars Sidhant Mohapatra and Anubhav Mohanty, signalling the party’s high-stakes approach to the contest.
Besides Sai, seven other BJP leaders from Chhattisgarh feature in the list – Arun Sao, Brijmohan Agrawal, Guru Khushwant Saheb, Roopkumari Choudhary, Anuj Sharma, Rohit Sahu, and Yogeshwar Raju Sinha.
Odisha BJP prabharis Sunil Bansal, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Lata Usendi, along with Deputy CMs Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, further strengthen the campaign lineup.
National Vice President Baijayant Panda, former state president Samir Mohanty, senior leader Basanta Panda, and several ministers, MPs, MLAs, and party stalwarts are also part of the party’s campaign strategy in this politically significant western Odisha constituency.
The BJP is eyeing to wrest the Nuapada seat from BJD by fielding nominee Jay Dholakia, son of the late sitting MLA Rajendra Dholakia whose death necessitated the bypoll. The BJD, which has been won the seat in 2024 by a margin of over 10,000 votes, has named ex-minister & BMJD president Snehangini Chhuria as its candidate, while the Congress has fielded tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi, who finished second in last elections contesting as an independent.
The by-election is scheduled for November 11 with vote counting on November 14.