The campaign for the Nuapada Assembly bypoll intensified on Thursday with the BJP fielding two of its chief ministers — Odisha’s Mohan Charan Majhi and Chhattisgarh’s Vishnu Deo Sai — to seek votes for party candidate Jay Dholakia.
Majhi led a road show at Uddiyana Bandha in Komana block. This was Majhi’s third visit to Nuapada within a month.
The BJP is pulling out all stops to secure a favourable outcome. The party expects to gain from Sai’s presence as Chhattisgarh shares a border and cultural ties with Nuapada.
Sai, during his rally at Panchampur in Nuapada, criticised former chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik for “not learning about Odisha” even after 27
years in politics.
Patnaik will campaign in the bypoll-bound constituency for the second time on Friday. He had earlier addressed a meeting at Komana block on November 3. Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy is also scheduled to campaign for the Congress candidate on Friday.
The Congress has fielded veteran tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi, who had secured over 50,000 votes in 2024. The BJP has nominated Jay Dholakia, son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, while the BJD has put up its women’s wing chief and former minister Snehangini Chhuria.
The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Thursday released its manifesto for the bypoll, promising to end exploitation in the tribal-dominated region and ensure justice and uninterrupted development. The manifesto launch came as the BJD and BJP continued to trade charges over the neglect of Nuapada and its people.
Former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said: “The manifesto clearly outlines solutions to issues such as migration, lack of irrigation and communication facilities, a crumbling health system, and a deteriorating education sector. It also strongly commits to protecting Adivasi rights.”
To generate jobs, the Congress promised to promote agriculture-based industries, improve farming, and revive small-scale units. It also pledged to curb migration by strengthening MNREGA.
The manifesto includes provisions for building cold storages and warehouses to help farmers preserve their produce. It also proposes expanding irrigation to 60 per cent of cultivable land, upgrading the Patora Dam and the Tikhali project, and ensuring land rights for tribal communities through effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act.