Bhubaneswar: With just 24 days remaining for the Bijepur by-election, political parties, especially the ruling BJD and opposition BJP, are busy preparing their list of campaigners.
The BJD had picked the late Subal Sahu’s wife Rita Sahu as its candidate months back, while the BJP named Ashok Panigrahi, who recently joined the BJP after quitting BJD, as its candidate Monday. The principal opposition Congress, who had won Bijepur thrice continuously, is in a fix over candidate and is yet to announce it even though the last date for nomination, February 6, is near.
BJD candidate Rita Sahu will file her papers February 5, while BJP’s Ashok Panigrahi will file February 2.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the BJD’s heavyweights will be among the party’s main campaigners. The party already has figures from the Oriya film industry with it in Lok Sabha MP Siddhanta Mahapatra, Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty and MLA Akash Das Nayak. Party leader Arun Sahoo said the star campaigners would be finalised shortly.
Meanwhile, BJP sources said they have not yet finalised star campaigners, but will rope in national leaders and BJP Chief Ministers for campaigning. The BJP also has faces from the Oriya film industry. Actor Mihir Das and Anu Choudhury joined the saffron camp recently. Party leaders said their list of star campaigners will be ready shortly.
The Congress which will announce the name of its candidate soon, said it is also preparing the list of its star campaigners.
The party’s MLA from Jeypore and chief whip in the Assembly Taraprasad Bahinipati said that apart from the OPCC leadership, the party’s top leaders like Narasingha Mishra, former OPCC chiefs Niranjan Patnaik, Jayadev Jena and others will campaign.
Congress MLA Prafulla Majhi said they have not yet decided on bringing national leaders for the campaign.
With voting scheduled for February 24, official sources said the parties will have to wind up campaigns by Feb 22.
PNN
