Jharsuguda: BJP candidate Tankadhar Tripathy on Monday filed his nomination for the by-election to Odisha’s Jharsuguda Assembly constituency scheduled to be held on May 10.
Accompanied by a host of senior BJP leaders and workers, Tripathy took out a grand procession and filed the nomination papers at the office of Jharsuguda deputy collector.
He started his rally after offering prayers to Jhadeshwar Baba and Maa Kanakeswari Devi and seeking their blessings.
Senior leaders including BJP state president Manmohan Samal, former state presidents Samir Mohanty, Basant Panda, Jual Oram & K V Singhdeo, Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari, Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu and several party MLAs were present when Tripathy filed his nomination.
Stating that the by-election will be fought by the people of Jharsuguda and he is only a medium, Tripathy said it will be a fight against ‘injustice’ meted out to the constituency during the last 23 years of BJD rule.
Alleging that the BJD government has been neglecting the area, the BJP candidate said the people of Jharsuguda will give a fitting reply to the ruling party in the by-election.
Tripathy, who has been visiting different parts of the constituency and interacting with people to know about their grievances, is highlighting issues like lack of development and acute drinking water scarcity in the area.
A former president of BJP Yuva Morcha and currently a party state secretary, the 41-year-old law graduate started his political career with ABVP as a student leader and has been politically active in Jharsuguda, his native place.
It may be noted here that Congress candidate Tarun Pandey filed his nomination papers on Saturday, while BJD’s Deepali Das, daughter of slain minister Naba Kishore Das, has already received a party ticket from party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the same day.
While the last date of filing nomination papers is April 20, scrutiny of nominations will be held the next day and April 24 has been set as the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Voting will be held on May 10.
The bypoll has been necessitated due to the murder of Naba Kishore Das allegedly by a policeman on January 29.
