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Bhubaneswar, Nov 24: Keeping annual matriculation examination in mind, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Orissa is likely to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) for early announcement of dates for Bijepur bypoll.
The annual matriculation examination conducted by Board of Secondary Education (BSE) will begin from February 23 and will continue till March 8. Also, the state and district administrations will need at least two weeks to prepare for the bypoll as well as the examination. Chief Electoral Officer DN Gupta said: “This proposal is being discussed with the Election Commission and is under their consideration. The EC is concerned about the [situation] and will take a decision soon.”
The bypoll for Bijepur was necessitated by the demise of former MLA Subal Sahu August 22 this year. According to norms, the bypoll should be conducted before six months (180 days) from the date of the death of a member. It means, by election must be completed before February 18.
Earlier, BJD alleged that the BJP was pressuring the ECI to delay the bypoll because as it was afraid of BJD’s strength in Bijepur. After getting BJP’s veteran leader from the Bargarh district Narayan Sahu and former Congress MLA Sahu’s family in its kitty, the ruling BJD has become stronger in the area. The saffron party is also planning to drag some leaders from BJD to fill the gap after the resignation of Narayan Sahu.
