BHUBANESWAR: As the bypoll to Dhamnagar Assembly constituency has been announced to be held on November 3, the ruling BJD faces problem of plenty with several leaders lobbying for the ticket.Prominent among those include two former MLAs Rajendra Das and Muktikanta Mondal. Das was the BJD MLA from the constituency in 2009 and had unsuccessfully contested against Bishnu Charan Sethi of the BJP in 2019 Assembly polls. Mondal was the BJD MLA from the seat in 2014 and is the husband of Bhadrak MP Manjulata Mondal.
Sources said there are several other contenders for a party ticket. They include Sanjay Das, a doctor by profession, and Ashok Nayak, former chairperson of the Dhamnagar block.Senior observer for Bhadrak district, Prasanna Acharya said the process of selection of candidate will start soon. The decision of selection of candidate for the bypoll rests with party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and he will announce the name at the appropriate time.
Meanwhile, several Congress leaders are also in the race for the ticket from the grand old party. The aspiring leaders include Madhumita Sethy, daughter of senior leader and former MP Ananta Sethy who had unsuccessfully contested 2019 Lok Sabha election from the seat. Besides, Bidyadhar Jena, Congress candidate from the Dhamnagar seat in 2019 election is hopeful of getting the party ticket. Besides, Anant Sethy is also in the race for a party ticket.
President of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Sarat Pattanayak has formed a committee for the by-poll. The committee members will visit the constituency and suggest names of candidates. Pattanayak said that Congress is fully prepared for the bypoll.Chief Electoral Officer Sushil Kumar Lohani on Thursday reviewed preparations for holding by-election to Dhamnagar Assembly constituency. Bhadrak Collector and other officers were present at the review meeting held virtually. The counting will be held on November 6.