Bhubaneswar: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is all set to hit the campaign trail in support of Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi ahead of the Nuapada bypoll in Odisha.

The Telangana Chief Minister is scheduled to canvass for the Congress party nominee at Salebhata in Nuapada on November 7, announced the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) in its Twitter (X) handle today.

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The Congress party had earlier included Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, his deputy Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot in its list of 40 star campaigners for Nuapada by-election, scheduled to be held on November 11. 

BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik to visit Nuapada on November 3

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, will campaign for party candidate Snehangini Chhuria in the bypoll on November 3 (Monday).

Patnaik, a five-time former Chief Minister, is scheduled to Komna block in Nuapada Assembly segment and interact with the people. BJD, the principal Opposition party in Odisha, has deputed at least 50 of its senior leaders, including many former ministers, to spearhead the campaign.

Ruling BJP mobilizes half of its Council of Ministers to canvass for party nominee

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deputed altogether eight ministers, half of the Council of Ministers in Odisha, to campaign for party candidate Jay Dholakia in the bypoll. The ministers have been assigned the responsibility of one zone each in Nuapada to canvass for the ruling party nominee.

In addition to this, Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo and senior BJP leader Jaynarayan Mishra have been given the overall charge of BJP campaign for the by-election.

Moreover, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who had visited Nuapada a couple of times recently, is likely to seek votes for Dholakia ahead of the November 11 bypoll.

Rajendra Dholakia of BJD had defeated independent nominee in 2024 polls   

The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. Dholakia had been elected to the Odisha Assembly from Nuapada seat for four times since 2004.

He first won the Assembly election from Nuapada as an independent nominee and then retained the seat in 2009, 2019 and 2024 on BJD tickets. He had also served as a minister in the BJD government under then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Also Read: Nuapada Bypoll: OIS Officer Tanuja Mohanty suspended for violation of Model Code of Conduct

Dholakia had defeated independent nominee Ghasiram Majhi by a margin of around 11,000 in 2024 Assembly polls. The former minister had secured 61,822 votes while Majhi was polled 50,941 votes.

BJP candidate Abhinandan Panda, the son of former MP Basanta Panda, got third position with 44,814 votes. Congress candidate Sarat Patnaik secured the fourth position with 15,501 votes.