Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said it will announce its candidate for the by-election to Odisha’s Jharsuguda Assembly constituency in a day or two.
The parliamentary board of the party is meeting in Delhi and the name of the candidate for the May 10 bypoll will be announced in a day or two, BJP’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal told reporters after his return from New Delhi.
While the ruling BJD has fielded Deepali Das, the daughter slain Minister Naba Kishore Das for the by-election, BJP and Congress are yet to announce their candidates.
BJP has sent the names of potential aspirants to the party’s parliamentary board for final approval. Similarly, there is speculation about Congress nominating Naren Pandey for the bypoll.
Samal, who undertook his first visit to Delhi after taking over as Odisha BJP president, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several central leaders.
Responding to queries, Samal said BJP’s target is to secure more than 51 per cent votes in the state in 2024 elections.
Claiming that BJP will come to power in Odisha by dislodging Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the next polls, the saffron leader said the aim is to have ‘double engine’ government. If BJP remains power both at the Centre and in Odisha, the state will witness rapid development in all spheres, he said.
The senior BJP leader asserted that the party has strengthened its organisation at the grassroots and is in a position to oust the Naveen Patnaik government in the next elections.
