Bijepur or Hinjili - Which seat will CM Naveen Vacate?

Bhubaneswar: After being sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Odisha for the fifth term in a row, BJD president Naveen Patnaik, who had contested from Hinjili and Bijepur Assembly seats and won both, will have to vacate one constituency. While Naveen is yet to decide which segment to retain, a debate is already raging.

Party leaders from both Ganjam (Hinjili) and Bargarh (Bijepur) want the CM to retain the seat of their concerned districts.

"People of Western Odisha want CM Naveen to stay in Bijepur and for the development of the region, we want him not to vacate the Bijepur Assembly seat. We have already proposed the CM not to vacate the seat as the region is lacking behind in development and also has no industry," said Bargarh BJD president, Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha.

On the other hand, senior BJD leader Surjya Narayan Patro said that he wants the CM to retain the Hinjili Assembly seat.

"As I belong to the district in which the Assembly seat falls, I want the CM to stay in Hinjili. However, the decision of vacating one seat, Hinjili or Bijepur, completely rests with the Chief Minister and whatever he decides is final," he added.

Whichever seat the CM may retain, a by-election is imminent and it is expected to be held along with the re-polling in Patkura Assembly seat where election was postponed following the death of BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla.