Pipili Assembly by-poll Campaign ends
Bureau,Odishabarta
Pipili: Electioneering for the by-election to Pipili Assembly Constituency in Puri district, held amidst COVID-guidelines, came to an end on Monday evening. The by-poll is scheduled for September 30, and the counting of votes will be done on October 3.
During campaigning, which started on September 20, political parties and the contestants organised meetings comprising only 20-25 people given the pandemic. BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did not campaign. All the candidates also focused on door-to-door campaigning, which was, however, severely affected due to cyclone-induced rainfall. Though there are 10 candidates in the fray, the contest is mostly confined among the BJD, BJP and the Congress nominees.
The by-election was necessitated following the death of BJD sitting MLA Pradip Maharathy due to COVID-19 in October last year. While Pradip Maharathy’s son Rudrapratap Maharathy is contesting the by-poll on a BJD ticket, the BJP has fielded Ashrit Pattanayak, who lost the Assembly elections in 2019.
“We have campaigned in different gram panchayats and sought blessings of people. I urged them to vote for the BJP on September 30 for development and a change. I am confident that with the love and blessings of the people, lotus will bloom in Pipili,” Ashrit Pattanayak said.
Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra is fighting on a Congress ticket. All senior State Congress leaders have campaigned for the party candidate.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi along with BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra campaigned for Ashrit Pattanayak.
A large number of BJD ministers and MLAs have worked overtime to ensure the victory of Rudhrapratap Maharathy.
Maharathy said: “The good works of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will help me to win the by-poll. We have held Mahila Samavesh also. My late father’s popularity will also help me.”
The by-poll is politically significant because the Opposition BJP is trying its best to win the seat in Pipili to take revenge for its defeat in Balasore by-poll in November 2020. The by-election to the Pipili Assembly constituency was postponed thrice for different reasons. Initially scheduled on April 17, it was countermanded following the death of Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj due to COVID-19, just three days before the poll date.
The polling date was later fixed on May 13, which was again rescheduled to May 16 because of Eid-ul-Fitr. It was deferred again given the rising number of COVID-19 cases, officials said.
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