Naveen Patnaik Likely To Announce BJD Candidate For Dhamnagar Bypoll In Odisha Today

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik is likely to announce the party candidate for Dhamnagar by-election soon, while Congress seems to have decided to field a new face in the constituency in Bhadrak district.

According to sources, Naveen has already held discussions with senior leaders, including BJD’s organisational secretary, observers and district-level leaders to finalise the party candidate.

Naveen is expected to announce the name of the candidate later on Tuesday, reports said, adding that the BJD candidate is likely to file the nomination on October 14, the last day of filing papers for the November 3 by-election.

While two former legislators – Rajendra Das and Muktikanta Mondal – have emerged as potential nominees for the party ticket, the Chief Minister will take a final decision before making an announcement.

On the other hand, the Congress held a meeting of its state election committee chaired by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Sarat Pattanayak on Monday to decide the party candidate. Two names have been shortlisted and sent to the AICC for a final decision, they said.

The two names were chosen after obtaining the views of party leaders from the district and those from the panchayat level. Senior leader Anant Prasad Sethy is unlikely to be in the race for party ticket as he has been appointed as Pradesh Returning Officer (PRO) of Haryana in the presidential election.

BJP seems to be ahead in electioneering after naming Suryabanshi Suraj, son of former MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi, as its candidate for the bypoll. Suraj, who has already launched the campaign, is likely to file his nomination on Tuesday.

The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of Suraj’s father Bishnu Sethi, who had won the election from Dhamnagar by a margin of 4625 votes in 2019. While he polled 80,111 votes, Rajendra K Das of BJD got 75,486.

While Manmohan Samal of  BJP had won the seat in the 2004 elections, Rajendra Das of BJD was elected from Dhamnagar in 2009 and Muktikanta Mondal of BJD in 2014.