Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday sprung a surprise by picking former minister Snehangini Chhuria as its nominee for the upcoming Nuapada bypoll.
Announcing Snehangini’s candidature, BJD president Naveen Patnaik described her as a strong leader from western Odisha who served in the ministry during his tenure as the CM of Odisha. “She has always fought for the poor, the downtrodden, women in particular. She has been a tremendous asset for the party. Therefore, we have concluded in party that she will be our candidate for the ensuing by-election in Nuapada,” he said.
Naveen further stated that he would be campaigning for her in Nuapada.
The regional party had found itself in a fix after Jay Dholakia, son of late sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia and once seen as its probable candidate for the bypoll, switched sides to BJP. He will contest the bypoll as the saffron party candidate.
Ghasiram Majhi, who is known for his grassroots connect and credibility among tribal voters, has already filed his nominations from the seat as the Congress candidate, while Jay is expected to file his on October 16 when CM Mohan Charan Majhi and state BJP president Manmohan Samal will also address a public meeting in Nuapada.
According to political analysts, the BJD picked Snehangini keeping with its political narrative of social inclusivity and women empowerment. Besides being a woman, she belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. Her nomination is being seen as an attempt by the BJD to strike a balance with gender, regional, and social representation ahead of the high-stakes bypoll.
Interestingly, Snehangini had lost the 2024 elections from Attabira Assembly constituency in Bargarh district, which she represented for two successive terms.
THE CONTEST & THE SEAT
Nuapada is considered a BJD stronghold. The seat has been represented thrice by the late Dholakia as a BJD legislator and once as an Independent since 2004 with the 2014 election as the only exception when former state BJP president Basanta Panda secured victory. Panda had also won the seat in 2000.
In the 2024 assembly election, Dholakia retained the seat with 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.
While BJP is hoping to wrest the seat from BJP by riding the sympathy wave with Jay, the Congress is eying a win with Ghasiram’s 50,000 plus 15,000 party votes, which Sarat Patnaik got in 2024 elections.
The by-election, which was necessitated following the demise of the sitting MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, will be held on November 11, coinciding with the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections and by-elections in six other Assembly constituencies across India.