BHUBANESWAR: The Congress candidate for Bijepur Assembly by-poll is likely to be announced on Monday as the team headed by former chief minister Hemananda Biswal has already recommended two names to the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
The election is scheduled on February 24.While BJP candidate Ashok Panigrahi filed nomination papers on Friday, BJD candidate Rita Sahu will file nomination papers on Sunday. Sources said the Congress candidate will file his nomination papers on February 6, the last day of filing papers. Either former minister Ripunath Seth or Pranaya Sahu is likely to be announced as the party candidate as the committee has recommended only their names.
Chairman of the candidate selection committee, Biswal said the party will announce its candidate in time and there is nothing to be worried about the matter.Though the selection of the candidate has been delayed, the Congress camp is confident of a victory because of the discontentment in the BJD and BJP over the official candidates. Apart from the anti-incumbency votes, Congress can also take advantage of the dissidence in the BJD and BJP.
Besides, Congress still has its base in the constituency even after Rita Sahu, widow of Subal Sahu, crossed over to the BJD. A senior Congress leader said the party candidate still has a good chance to win the by-poll if senior leaders bury their differences and fight unitedly. He said both the aspirants Seth and Sahu are acceptable to the party workers. The selection of the candidate has been left to the high command, he said.
By-poll has been necessitated following the death of Subal Sahu on August 22. Sahu had won from the constituency for three consecutive times in 2004, 2009 and 2014 on a Congress ticket. While Seth, one of the aspirant for a Congress ticket had won in 1995, BJP candidate Panigrahi had won from the constituency on a BJD ticket in 2000.