Bhubaneswar: The Congress has released a list of 40 star campaigners, which includes Odisha party in-charge A Chella Kumar, OPCC president Sarat Patnaik, other senior leaders of the state and its new firebrand inductee Kanhaiya Kumar, for Jharsuguda bypoll on May 10.
The party has fielded Tarun Pandey (45), son of late MLA Biren Pandey, as its candidate for the by-election. The three-time MLA had passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar last month.
It is a do-or-die situation for the Congress, which has lost deposits in five bypolls since 2019. With a sharp fall in its vote share and number of seats in successive elections since 2004, the grand old party is struggling to stay relevant in state politics.
Both Congress and BJD, which has named Deepali Das, daughter of slain minister Naba Kishore Das whose alleged murder on January 29 necessitated the bypoll, hope to cash in on the sympathy wave over the ‘personal loss’ of their candidates.
Tankadhar Tripathy is the BJP nominee for the bypoll, which is expected to set the tone for the big battle in 2024.
