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Journalism of Courage
The bypoll to the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency in Odisha, which fell vacant following the death of the state’s health and family welfare minister Naba Kisore Das, will be held on May 10. The counting will take place on May 13.
Das died after a police officer opened fire at him from close range while he was going to attend an official programme at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda on January 29.
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), gazette notification for the bypoll will be issued on April 13 while candidates can file nominations till April 20.
Das, who had won the seat twice in 2009 and 2014 on a Congress ticket, had switched to ruling BJD in 2019 and retained the seat with an impressive margin of 45,699 votes. A popular leader in the region, Das was inducted into Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet in 2019.
The BJD and BJP have already started preparations for the bypoll days after murder of Das by conducting outreach programmes and other activities.
Sources in the ruling BJD said it is likely to field Dipali Das, daughter of the deceased MLA, as its candidate in the bypoll. Dipali, 26, was active in politics as she was seen sharing the dais on many programmes with her father and reviewing development activities in the constituency. Dipali continued her public connectivity exercise by touring across the constituency. She was also seen attending meetings organised by the local administration to review development activities in the constituency.
The BJP is likely to field its young face Tankadhar Tripathy, the former state president of BJP Yuva Morcha. Tripathy has been actively participating in social functions in different parts of Jharsuguda constituency and recently also organised a protest march over issues in the interior pockets of the constituency. In 2019, BJP’s Dinesh Kumar Jain had secured 52,921 votes.
If given tickets, both Das and Tripathy will make their electoral debut in the bypoll.
Though the Congress is yet to promote any face for the bypoll, sources said at least four to five people are lobbying for a Congress ticket for the Jharsuguda by-election.
With over 2.2 lakh voters, Jharsuguda Assembly constituency comprises Jharsuguda municipality and four blocks— Jharsuguda, Kirmira, Laikera and Kolabira, the coal-bearing areas.
Das’s murder and the failure of the Odisha Police in ascertaining the motive behind it is likely to be the most dominating issue in the bypoll.
