Bhubaneswar: Nuapada, where a bypoll is scheduled for November 11, is heating up with BJD president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik’s re-entry into the political arena, testing his personal clout and the party’s resilience against the BJP’s western surge.
The former CM, who set the tone for the by-election with his ‘candidate chori’ jibe earlier this week, on Wednesday announced his next visit to the constituency to campaign for party candidate Snehangini Chhuria.
While expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the people of Nuapada for their overwhelming response and large turnout at the Komna public meeting, Naveen said he will be visiting Nuapada and Khariar Road on November 7 to reconnect with people and seek their blessings.
The political battleground in Nuapada turned fiery on Monday as Naveen hurled “vote chori” allegation at the ruling BJP and accused it of poaching its candidate. “They (BJP) had stolen votes to form the government earlier and now they have stolen a candidate. This is a betrayal of the people, of the BJD and of me personally,” he said, referring to Jay Dholakia, who joined the BJP within weeks of the death of his father and sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, which necessitated the bypoll.
He urged voters to press the Conch symbol on November 11 to reply to the “betrayal”.
A day later, Kalpana Dholakia, wife of the late BJD MLA, lashed out at BJD, alleging that the party ignored Rajendra’s 24 years of loyalty and failed to respect him in his final days, which deeply hurt him. “Exploiting his image for propaganda after his death is unethical,” she added, emphasising the family’s claim to his legacy and justified her son Jay joining the BJP inspired by PM Modi’s development agenda, not personal motives.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, however, rejected these claims, stating that Naveen had inquired about Dholakia’s health despite his own illness. He further mentioned that Jay Dholakia had claimed Naveen’s blessings before entering the saffron fold.
The election is the first in Odisha since the BJD’s electoral debacle in 2024, when the BJP wrested power from the regional satrap after 24 years of rule, and is also being seen as a litmus test for the saffron party’s popularity in the state.
Besides BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria and BJP’s Jay Dholakia Ghasiram Majhi, representing the Indian National Congress (INC), is the other key contender in the fry. The polling is scheduled for November 11 with counting of votes on November 14.