Campaigning gains momentum for bypoll

Bhubaneswar: Campaigning for the forthcoming Brajrajnagar byelection has gained momentum with senior leaders of all the three parties pulling out all stops to solicit people’s support for their respective candidates.
The campaign for the bypoll will end on May 29.
Though 11 candidates are in the fray, the May 31 bypoll is likely to see a triangular contest between BJD, BJP and Congress. The ruling party has fielded Alaka Mohanty, wife of late MLA Kishore Kumar Mohanty, as its candidate. The rivals BJP and Congress have nominated former MLA, Radharani Panda, and former speaker, Kishore Chandra Patel, as their candidates, respectively. Unlike the three previous bypolls in the coastal districts — Balasore, Jagatsinghpur and Pipili — all the three major parties have a strong base in the Brajrajnagar constituency. Known to be a communist bastion, the Brajrajnagar assembly constituency was under Congress rule from 1995 to 2014. While the BJP won the seat for the first time in 2014, the governing BJD tasted victory in the western constituency in 2019.
As it shares its border with Chhattisgarh, where Congress is in power, many ruling party leaders from the neighbouring state are working overtime to ensure victory in the constituency. Senior leaders such as former state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik, Suresh Routray and others are leading the campaign charge. “Kishore Patel is a very strong candidate and voters in the constituency have made up their mind to elect him as their MLA,” Routray said.
While Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bishweswar Tudu have already sought votes for BJP candidate Radharani Panda, party state president Samir Mohanty also reached Brajrajnagar on Thursday.