All political parties have decided to boycott the urban local body (ULB) polls in Sambalpur over the permanent High Court bench in Western Odisha demand. The decision was taken a day after more than 150 organisations pledged their support to the agitating lawyers.
The Central Action Committee (CAC) of All Western Odisha Bar Association (AWOBA) has been spearheading the agitation in the region over the demand.
The polls will be held for Sambalpur Municipality and NACs of Hirakud and Kuchinda in the district from August 20.
At a meeting held here on Saturday, the political parties led by their district presidents accepted the proposal of the CAC to abstain from the poll process.
BJP MLA Jayanarayana Mishra, Rengali MLA Duryodhan Gardia, former Rajya Sabha member Surendra Lath, district BJD president Rohit Pujari and District Congress Committee president Raj Kishore Das were present. A resolution to the effect was also passed.
At the meeting, Rohit demanded that all MLAs and MPs of the region should be asked to tender their resignation.
Earlier, the CAC had issued an ultimatum to the State Government to recommend the Union Government on setting up of the High Court bench by August 15. With State Government remaining silent on the issue, the CAC decided to go ahead with its agitation plan.