BJD Picks Senior Leaders As Block/Municipality Observers For Jharsuguda Bypoll In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday appointed seasoned campaigners as block and municipality observers for Jharsuguda by-election, scheduled to be held on May 10.

Pratap Jena, Pushpendra Singhdeo, Snehangini Chhuria and Rita Sahu will focus on urban Jharsuguda with 71,113 votes and Padmanav Behera and Arun Sahoo will take care of Jharsuguda block with 38,546 votes, an office order said. 

Kirmira block, which has 33,901 votes, has been assigned to Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak  and Tukuni Sahu, Kolabira block with 37,810 votes to Niranjan Puri and Saroj Meher, Laikera block with 39,703 votes to Pratap Keshari Deb and Dibya Shankar Mishra.

All these leaders recently proved their mettle in Padampur bypoll.

The party had earlier appointed senior leaders Prasanna Acharya, Devi Prasad Mishra and Sarada Prasad Nayak as observers for the upcoming bypoll. The seat fell vacant following the death of Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29.

Also Read: Odisha Govt Replaces Jharsuguda Collector Ahead Of Byelection To Assembly Seat

The ruling party seems to be leaving no stone unturned as this bypoll is expected to set the tone for the twin elections in 2024. The BJD has fielded Deepali Das, daughter of the late minister, hoping for a victory by cashing in on the sympathy wave. A win for Deepali might also reduce the discussion on Naba Kishore Das’ murder, and in a way help ruling BJD wriggle out of an embarrassing situation ahead of the next polls. It will also help the party to quell the BJP challenge in the region and also dilute the Dhamnagar victory narrative of the saffron party.

Also Read: Jharsuguda Bypoll: Why It Could Set The Tone For Next Assembly Polls In Odisha