Pipili bypoll on April 17, lobbying starts for tickets

The by-election to Pipili constituency was necessitated after the death of the sitting BJD MLA and former minister Pradeep Maharathy on October 4 last year.
BJD leader and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik at election rally. (Photo | EPS)
BJD leader and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik at election rally. (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: The bypoll to the Pipili Assembly constituency will be held on April 17 along with two Lok Sabha and 14 Assembly seats in other states, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday.According to the schedule, the gazette notification for the bypoll will be published on March 23. Filing of nomination papers will be done from March 23 to March 30. The last date of withdrawal of nomination papers will be April 3. Counting of votes and announcement of results will be on May 2.

Hectic lobbying has already started in the ruling BJD for ticket for the by-poll though it is assumed that a member from the family of former minister Pradeep Maharathy is likely to be nominated. Pratibha Maharathy, wife of Maharathy and his son, Rudra Pratap Maharathy are strong contenders for the ticket. Several senior leaders of the party including Minister of State for School and Mass Education Sameer Ranjan Dash have urged the party leadership to select a Maharathy family member as the BJD candidate.

However, the BJP and Congress have reportedly finalised their candidates and await the approval of the central leadership for announcement of the names. BJP’s Ashrit Patnaik, who contested against Maharathy in the last Assembly elections and lost the polls by a margin of about 9,000 votes, is likely to be nominated by the BJP.

Three aspirants, party spokesperson Nishikant Mishra, former block chairman of Pipili Purna Chandra Swain and president of the Puri District Congress Committee Ajit Mangaraj are in the race for Congress ticket. The by-election to Pipili constituency was necessitated after the death of the sitting BJD MLA and former minister Pradeep Maharathy on October 4 last year.

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