Bhubaneswar: The nomination papers of five candidates for the November 11 Nuapada by-poll were rejected during scrutiny due to technical errors, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said here on Thursday.
In all, 19 candidates had filed nominations for the bypoll – eight from political parties and 11 as Independents. However, during scrutiny on Wednesday, the papers of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee Rajaram Sahu, Rashtriya Parivartan Dal’s Sitaram Behera and three independents – Kamal Kumar Chhatria, Purusottam Behera and Bhujabal Adabang – were rejected, leaving 14 candidates in the fray. The last date for withdrawal of nomination is October 24.
According to the CEO’s office, the nominations of Jay Dholakia (BJP), Snehangini Chhuria (BJD), Ghasiram Majhi (Congress), Ramakant Hati (Samajwadi Party), Hemant Tandi (Bahujan Mukti Party), Sukadhar Dandasena (Odisha Janata Dal) and eight Independents – Ashraya Mahanand, Chakrant Jena, Bhubanlal Sahu, Lochan Majhi, Kishore Kumar Bagh, Bhaktabandhu Dharua, Nita Bagh and Laxmikanta Tandi – were found valid.
The bypoll is likely to witness a triangular contest among the ruling BJP, Opposition BJD and Congress, all of whom have already launched intensive campaigns for their candidates. The election is politically significant as it will be the first electoral test for Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi following the BJP’s win in the 2024 polls.
The bypoll is equally important for the BJD, which lost power after 24 years, even though it secured a higher vote share than the BJP in the 2024 Assembly elections. While the BJD polled 40.22 per cent votes, the BJP garnered 40.07 per cent, and the Congress secured around 13 per cent.
The contest became more interesting after the BJD’s prospective candidate, Jay Dholakia, son of late sitting MLA Rajendra Dholakia, joined the BJP and became its nominee. Following Dholakia’s defection, the BJD fielded its women’s wing president and former minister from neighbouring Bargarh district, Snehangini Chhuria. The Congress, headed in Odisha by Bhakta Charan Das, has nominated Ghasiram Majhi, a tribal leader who had polled the second-highest votes in Nuapada in the 2024 general elections. The stakes are high for Das, a former MP from Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency, of which Nuapada is a part.