Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Sunday alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is delaying the Bijepur by-poll due to pressure from the BJP-led Union government.
The Bijepur by-poll has been necessitated by the death of three-time Congress MLA Subal Sahu. The legislator died August 22 this year. As per norms, the by-poll for the Assembly seat should be conducted within six months from the date on which it fell vacant.
“The BJP is not announcing their candidate for the Bijepur by-poll and the election date is also not being announced. It seems that something fishy is going on. People feel that ECI is delaying the date under pressure from the Union government. BJP may be pressurising the Commission in fear of losing the election,” alleged Labour Minister Sushant Singh.
The minister also remarked that the saffron party believes that their chances of winning the by-election will improve if they get some more time.
Earlier, BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra and BJD spokesperson Sameer Das had also raised questions on the delay in the declaration of the date for the by-poll.
Reacting to Singh’s allegation, BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma described them as “illogical.’’
“He should stay away from giving such illogical statements as there is no solution to it. The fear of losing elections is clear from his words,” said Sharma.
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