Bhubaneswar, Jan. 14: Campaigning for the by-election in ward No. 17 of the corporation came to an end with cine-star and Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty seeking votes on behalf of the BJD.
The ruling party candidate Susmita Dash is pitted against the Congress's Annapurna Dash. The BJP has not fielded a candidate. Polling is scheduled to take place on January 17.
Today, Anubhav interacted with residents of Sainik School area and then visited the Pathara Bandh slum. Bhubaneswar (central) MLA Bijay Mohanty, a number of BJD youth leaders and some councillors accompanied him.
Bhubaneswar (north) MLA Priyadarshi Mishra and mayor Ananta Narayan Jena have been rigorously campaigning for their candidate for the past few days.
The Congress, too, is trying its best but seems to be lagging behind the BJD. Former Congress minister Suresh Routray and district president Manoranjan Dash were among the star campaigners for the Congress. Political analysts believe that the Congress has an upper hand as its candidate hails from the Pathara Bandh slum with a major concentration of votes.
Stakes are high for both the parties as winning has become a matter of prestige. More so for the star campaigners of the BJD and the city mayor whose equations with the chief minister would hinge on the results of this contest.
In another development, Orissa High Court today refused to grant a stay on the Cuttack mayor's election scheduled on January 22.
The single-judge bench of Justice B.K. Nayak expressed disinclination to pass any interim order after the State Election Commission had submitted that, according to the Supreme Court directions, courts could interfere in the matter after poll notification was issued.
Both the posts of Cuttack mayor and councillor of ward No. 21 fell vacant with Anita Behera's resignation on December 29 last year after her name had surfaced as a beneficiary of ration card under the National Food Security Act.
Kanak Lata Nayak, a resident of ward No. 21, filed the petition challenging holding of by-election for the mayor's post (reserved for scheduled caste women) without conducting by-election in ward No. 21 (reserved for scheduled caste women). An interim stay on the mayor's election was sought when the petition came up for hearing today.
