CM Naveen Patnaik likely to descend on Padampur battleground on December 2

Ahead of the Padampur Bypoll, which is scheduled to be held on December 5, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to visit the poll-bound assembly constituency in Bargarh district on December 2.

However, there has been no official confirmation in this regard from the CM’s office.

Earlier, there were reports that the BJD President would address the people of Padampur virtually. However, there is a strong possibility that he would join the campaign trail himself.

He is likely to visit Padampur to campaign for the party candidate Barsha Singh Bariha for the by-election to the Assembly Constituency. 

The visit of CM Naveen Patnaik may change the course of battle in Padampur. Earlier, Bargarh MLA Debesh Acharya had hinted that the BJD supremo would visit Padampur, Paikamal, Jharbandh and attend rallies as part of the campaigning for the bypoll.

During his whirlwind campaign, he would interact with voters, hold roadshows to seek votes and change the course of the battleground. 

Speaking to OTV, Debesh said, “The programme for CM Naveen Patnaik’s visit to Padampur is finalized on December 2. He will visit Jharbandh, Paikamal and Padampur block. He will grace these three big election rallies and attend road shows. This is what I’m aware of.”

It is worth mentioning here that CM Naveen Patnaik had addressed virtual rallies for the last five Assembly by-elections held since 2019 instead of visiting the constituencies. The Chief Minister had last visited the Bijepur Assembly constituency to campaign for party candidate Rita Sahu in the by-election held in 2019.

Naveen’s move to visit Padampur assumes significance as it comes in the wake of BJD’s defeat in Dhamnagar Assembly by-election that concluded recently.

Notably, the Padampur by-election is scheduled to be held on December 5 following the demise of sitting BJD legislator Bijayranjan Singh Bariha , father of the ruling BJD candidate Barsha Singh Bariha.