Bhubaneswar: While the by-election to Pipili Assembly constituency is just a month away, the race has begun among the family members of the MLA from the seat late Pradeep Maharathy for the ruling BJD ticket.
While a group of supporters of the former MLA is in favour of his son Rudra Pratap, the other group has openly come out in support of his wife Prativa.
Talking to a private channel, Pranay Maharathy, the younger brother of Pradeep Maharathy, said keeping the ensuing civic body polls and panchayat polls in view, it will be better if the BJD leadership gives ticket to a young leader. If the party supremo chooses Rudra Pratap as the party candidate, the entire family will support him wholeheartedly.
On the possibility of the candidature of Prativa Maharathy, he said there is no doubt that she will win. But the future of the BJD in Pipili constituency cannot be assured. “As far as I know, BJD will lose its entity in Pipili in the future if a young leader is not selected. As Pipili now needs a solid party organisation, the onus is on the Chief Minister to pick the right candidate,” he pointed out.
While the focus of the ruling party is now on the women and the young brigade, it is not yet clear as to who will be the candidate.
While the suspense continues, both Prativa and her son are conducting meetings separately. However, they have left the decision to the BJD supremo to choose one of them as the party candidate.
Recently, a senior BJD leader and Nimapada MLA Samir Ranjan Dash had proposed the party leadership to nominate one of the family members of Pradeep Maharathy as its candidate.
Also Read: Pipili Bypoll: Odisha MLA Proposes Candidature For Maharathy Kin
