Odisha: Parties gear up for Pipili bypoll

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BHUBANESWAR: With the Election Commission of India (ECI) having announced a fresh schedule for the long-pending byelection to the Pipili assembly constituency, the three major political parties here — BJD, BJP and Congress — are gearing up for another round of high-voltage campaign.
The byelection, which will be held on September 30, was made necessary following the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year. The counting of votes will take place on October 3.
The candidates of the three parties — BJD’s Rudra Pratap Maharathy, BJP’s Ashrit Pattanayak and Congress’s Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra — have already held discussions with the local leaders to prepare the campaign plan. Altogether 10 candidates are in the fray for the byelection.
Senior leaders, who were in-charge of the bypoll on behalf of their respective parties, are expected to reach Pipili soon to set things in order with an eye on the panchayat elections scheduled to be held early next year.
Senior BJD leader and state school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash is confident that his party will win the byelection with a good margin. The ECI has allowed campaigning from September 20 with strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol.

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