Bhubaneswar: Altogether 14 candidates will contest in the upcoming Nuapada Assembly by-election in Odisha. This was revealed by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, on Friday.

“Today (October 24) was the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers for Nuapada bypoll. The candidates were allowed to withdraw their nominations between 11 am and 3 pm. However, no candidate withdrew the nomination paper. As a result, a total of 14 candidates will contest the Nuapada Assembly bypoll,” said the office of the CEO.

The list of 14 candidates for Nuapada by-election

Jay Dholakia of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Snehangini Chhuria of Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Ghasiram Majhi of Indian National Congress (INC), Ramakanta Hati of Samajwadi Party, Hemant Tandi of Bahujan Mukti Party, and Shukadhar Dandsena of Odisha Janata Dal, along with eight Independent candidates —Ashraya Mahandan, Chakranta Jena, Bhuvan Lal Sahu, Kishore Kumar Bag, Nita Bag, Lakshmikant Tandi, Bhaktabandhu Dharua, and Lochan Majhi—are in the fray for the bypoll.

Also Read: Nuapada bypoll: Odisha BJP mobilizes half of its Council of Ministers to spearhead campaign

Nominations of 5 candidates rejected

Altogther 19 candiadtes had filed their nominations for Nuapada by-election. The nomination papers of five candidates were rejected during the scrutiny process on October 22. The nominations of Rajaram Sahu of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Sitaram Behera of the Rastriya Paribartan Dal, and three Independent candidates — Kamal Kumar Chhatria, Purushottam Behera, and Bhujabal Adabangu—were rejected, said the office of the CEO. 

The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. The voting for the by-election will be held on November 11 while counting is scheduled to be done on November 16.

Rajendra Dholakia of BJD had defeated independent nominee in 2024 polls   

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.

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.