New Delhi: The bye-election to the Nuapada Assembly constituency in Odisha will be held on November 11, the Election Commission of India (ECI)announced on Monday.
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 has already deputed central observers including General, Police, and Expenditure to Nuapada last month to oversee the poll arrangements.
The announcement came a few hours after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, during a one-day tour of Nuapada, announced a development package worth Rs 1,100 crore for the district while declaring municipal status for Khariar Road and NAC (Notified Area Council) status for Komna and Sinapali.
The bye-election, necessitated following the untimely demise of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, is set to shape the leadership of CM 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.
In the 2024 assembly election, Dholakia of the BJD had secured 61,822 votes, while Congress rebel Ghasiram Majhi, who contested as an Independent, polled 50,941 votes, emerging as a close runner-up. The Congress’s official nominee, Sarat Pattanayak, lagged far behind with 15,501 votes, while the BJP candidate Abhinandan Panda finished third, managing just over 440,814 votes.