By Our Correspondent
BARGARH/SAMBALPUR:Redhakhol MLA Rohit Pujari now Government Deputy Chief Whip while senior Western Odisha leader Subash Chouhan as Chairman Western Odisha Development Council , so ruling BJD taking all steps to keep in the dissidents in check prior to the October 21 By-polls to Bijepur Assembly seat in Bargarh district.
Bijepur assembly seat in Western Odisha’s Bargarh district was vacated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as he retained Hinjili segment, his home turf in Ganjam district. Patnaik had won both from Hinjili and Bijepur seat in 2019 Assembly election.
By-election to the Bijepur seat will be held on October 21. The ruling BJD has already formed a four-member election coordination committee comprising Niranjan Pujari, Sushant Singh, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo and Sanjay Dasburmafor the by-poll, while BJP and Congress have also initiated the process for candidate selection.
Senior leader and Minister Sushant Singh said the BJD chief will announce the candidate on the basis of winability.
“We are fully prepared for the by-poll for which we started preparations much earlier. Names of prospective candidates will be sent to Delhi and party’s Parliamentary Board will finalise the candidate, said BJP’s Odisha unit president Basanta Panda, who is also Party’s Kalahandi Lok Sabha MP.
“We will certainly emerge victorious. We believe that our party will surely win as we will highlight local issues,”Panda said.
Senior Congress leader and MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said the party has already set up a committee headed by Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra for Bijepur by-polls.
Political pundits opined that the ruling party is aiming at wining the Bijepur Assembly seat for third consecutive time
