Bhubaneswar: Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and Union minister Smriti Irani will campaign for the BJP in the Bijepur bypoll.

The BJD, however, will bank on chief minister Naveen Patnaik to spearhead the campaign, while state-level Congress leaders will do it for their candidate.

For the three major parties, the bypoll is the semi-final match before the general elections, and they are sparing no efforts to capture the seat that fell vacant following the death of Congress MLA Subal Sahu.

While the BJD has fielded Rita Sahu, the widow of the late MLA, the BJP has picked former BJD MLA from the seat Ashok Panigrahi. Despite the Sahu family switching sides, the Congress has managed to keep its flock together.

The Congress nominee, Pranaya Sahu, on Tuesday filed his papers in the presence of the party's senior leaders, including PCC president Prasad Harichandan and Srikant Jena.

In a show of unity Ripunath Seth, a contender for the party ticket, accompanied Sahu to file his papers.

BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said: "Raman Singh, Smriti Irani, Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav and a few other central leaders will campaign for Ashok Panigrahi." Singh had campaigned in the area during last year's zila parishad polls, in which the BJP had put up an impressive show in the region. Two Union ministers from Odisha - Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram - will be key bypoll campaigners.

However, the BJD and the Congress have targeted the BJP for inviting Singh.