Hinjili or Bijepur?

BERHAMPUR: BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik contested from Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bijepur in Bargarh district and won from both the seats. While he is about to be sworn in as Chief Minister for the 5th time, he has to resign from one seat. Though there are many aspirants for both the seats, Naveen has not made it clear which segment he will quit.

During campaigning, BJP had claimed that Naveen chose to contest from Bijepur because of fear of losing from Hinjili constituency, which has been proved wrong. Which of the two seats will Naveen retain is not known, but a by-election is imminent.

A decision on which seat will Naveen retain is expected soon, so that the by-election can be held along with Patkura Assembly seat in July, sources said. Patkura Assembly poll was postponed following the death of BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agrawalla.

Agrawalla’s widow Savitri Agrawalla of BJD and senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra are contesting from Patkura.