BJD fields Alaka Mohanty as its candidate for Brajrajnagar bypoll

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday named Alaka Mohanty, the wife of late Kishore Mohanty, as its candidate for the upcoming by-election to Brajrajnagar assembly constituency in Jharsuguda district.

The by-election to the seat will be held on May 31, as per the notification issued by State Election Commission. The counting of votes will take place on June 3. The entire election process will be completed by June 5.

The by-poll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA from Brajrajnagar and former Speaker Kishore Kumar Mohanty due to cardiac arrest on December 30, 2021.

On May 8, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named former MLA Radharani Panda as its candidate for the bypoll to the Brajrajnagar Assembly seat.

Earlier, Panda had bagged the seat by defeating BJD candidate Anup Kumar Sai in 2014. However, she lost to BJD’s Kishore Mohanty by a margin of 11,634 during the 2019 Assembly polls.