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Bhubaneswar, Oct 15 (IANS) The Central Election Committee of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday formally declared Jai Dholakia as its candidate for the Nuapada by-election in Odisha.
The Nuapada assembly seat had fallen vacant after the death of Dholakia’s father and senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Rajendra Dholakia on September 8.
Earlier, there were speculations about Jai Dholakia following his father’s footsteps and contesting the by-election on BJD ticket. However, in an interesting twist, he joined the ruling BJP on Saturday (November 11).
Meanwhile, BJP sources have also confirmed that Dholakia will file his nomination on October 16 in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, party’s Odisha president Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders.
BJP MP Sujit Kumar, speaking to media persons on Tuesday, said that a grand meeting will be organized in Nuapada on Thursday, which is expected to be attended by over 40,000 BJP supporters and workers.
Kumar also informed that over 2,000 workers of the opposition BJD and Congress will join the ruling BJP during a grand membership program in Nuapada on the same day.
The BJP MP expressed confidence that the party will win the by-election by a margin of more than 50,000 votes.
Political experts have claimed that the ruling BJP will leave no stone unturned to win the by-election, its first after assuming power in the state.
It is noteworthy that the process of filing nominations started from Monday. Candidates can submit their nominations till October 20, which is the last date for filing.
The nominations will be scrutinized on October 22 and candidates can withdraw their candidature till October 24.
The by-election for Nuapada assembly seat is to be held on November 11, while the counting of votes will take place on November 14.
The Congress party has named tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi as its candidate, while the BJD has not announced its candidate yet.
–IANS
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