BHUBANESWAR: A day after Ritarani Sahu, widow of Congress MLA Subal Sahu, joined BJD and announced her intention to contest the by-poll from Bijepur Assembly constituency, senior leader and ruling party’s Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya said the party is yet to take a decision on its candidate.
Acharya’s statement has indicated that the decision to induct family members of Sahu to BJD and field Ritarani in the by-poll is not based on consensus and there is strong opposition to the move from a faction in the district party. The former minister, however, said he is not opposed to anybody contesting on a BJD ticket in the by-poll.
The Chief Minister and party supremo will take a decision in this regard at the right time by considering all aspects, Acharya said and added that notification for the by-poll is yet to be issued by the Election Commission. Acharya was conspicuous by his absence at the joining ceremony at the BJD headquarters here on Saturday. The former minister, however, said he had informed the Chief Minister that he will not be able to attend the function because of other important engagements.
Besides Ritarani, there are several other aspirants for a BJD ticket to contest the by-poll. Prominent among them are former MLA from Bijepur Assembly constituency Ashok Panigrahi and local party leader Prabhat Aditya Mishra.
After important local Congress workers joined BJD along with the family members of Sahu, the party is yet to start any move to reorganise remaining party apparatus and fight the by-poll. Several senior leaders of Congess maintained that the delay in restructuring of the State unit and appointment of a new president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) is having an adverse impact on the morale of the party workers in the constituency. Sources said former minister Ripunath Seth and youth leader Pranay Sahu are the two main contenders for Congress ticket.
Sources said as the leaders are waiting for the decision of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on the restructuring of State unit, the process for selection of candidate for the by-poll is yet to be started. Meanwhile, the BJP which improved its performance from the area in the panchayat polls, is considering to field a candidate from its ranks instead of giving priority to leaders who cross over from other political parties.