BARGARH: Campaign for Bijepur by-election has picked up momentum with leaders of the three major political parties joining the race to woo voters in their favour.Raising the political temperature in the Assembly constituency, BJD, BJP and Congress have launched a high-pitched campaign to ensure victory of their respective candidates. Bijepur, which will go to polls on October 21, covers Barpali NAC, major parts of Barpali, Bijepur and Gaisilet blocks.
BJD leaders have intensified activities at the panchayat level and are laying thrust on door-to-door campaign. The grassroots campaign is being monitored at the block level by senior BJD leaders.
While Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari and senior leader Sanjay Das Burma are camping at Barpali block, Agriculture and Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo and his Rural Development counterpart Susanta Singh are in charge of Bijepur. Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain and Kalikesh Singh Deo are camping at Gaisilet to monitor the campaign. This apart, BJD MLAs Debesh Acharya and Ananta Narayan Jena are monitoring the activities in Barpali NAC.
The BJD leaders, including party candidate Rita Sahu, are banking on the clean image of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and various welfare measures initiated by the BJD Government to attract voters in favour of the ruling outfit.
Similarly, BJP is also organising meetings at panchayat level to sway rural voters in its favour. Party candidate Sanat Kumar Gartia and other leaders are trying to influence the public by accusing Naveen of betraying people of Bijepur by vacating the seat, BJD of all-round failure besides raising local issues like lack of irrigation, shortage of doctors and teachers.
State BJP president Basanta Panda, Bargarh Lok Sabha Member Suresh Pujari and KV Singh Deo are monitoring the poll campaign in the Assembly constituency.
Congress is also not far behind in the campaign race as party candidate Dillip Kumar Panda and other leaders are working overtime to win voters back in their favour. After the death of former Bijepur MLA and Congress leader Subal Sahu in 2017, the party seems to have lost its stronghold in Bijepur.
Subal had represented Bijepur for three consecutive terms in 2004, 2008 and 2014. However, after his death, his wife Rita Sahu joined BJD and won the by-election in 2018.
Congress leaders Prakash Chandra Debata, Satyabhusan Sahu and MLA Santosh Singh Saluja are monitoring the party’s poll campaign for the upcoming by-poll, which was necessitated after BJD supremo Naveen vacated Bijepur seat, which he had won along with Hinjili in 2019 elections.