Bhubaneswar: Congress on Tuesday announced senior tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi as its candidate for upcoming by-election to the Nuapada Assembly constituency in Odisha.
The AICC said in a press release that Congress president Mllikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Ghasiram Majhi as the party candidate for Nuapada bypoll.
By announcing its candidate for the bypoll, Congress took a lead as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and main opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) are yet to name their candidates for the by-election.
The Congress announcement came a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) declared the schedule for the by-election which will be held on November 11.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar further informed that counting of votes will be held on November 14.
The notification for the bye-election will be issued on October 13. The deadline for filing nominations is October 20, followed by scrutiny of papers on October 22. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 24, the ECI added.
The ECI had already deputed central observers including General, Police, and Expenditure to Nuapada last month to oversee the poll arrangements.
The bye-election, necessitated following the untimely demise of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, is set to shape the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, and OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das, each facing their first election in a new role.
Since 2000, the seat had been represented thrice by the late Dholakia as a BJD legislator and once as an Independent, while former state BJP president Basanta Panda secured two victories.
