Balasore: In another twist ahead of the by-polls, Balasore Sadar block chairman Narayan Pradhan who had quit BJD and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on October 7, switched his allegiance from the saffron party to BJD again within 48 hours.
While the three major political parties are yet to announce names of the candidates for the by-elections to Tirtol and Balasore Sadar Assembly constituencies, party-hopping continues to give jitters to all.
Narayan Pradhan has quit BJP and joined BJD again, in presence of senior BJD MLAs Pratap Deb and Pranab Prakash Das. After returning to the party fold, Pradhan said that he had joined BJP on assurances, but returned after witnessing the real picture.
“The decision to resign BJD was a mistake and I’ve realised that. I don’t want my party to be on the back-foot during the by-elections,” said Pradhan.
As per the notification of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the by-election to the Balasore and Tirtol Assembly constituencies will be held on November 3 and counting is scheduled on the 11th.
The by-polls have been necessitated following the demise of two sitting legislators – BJP MLA Madan Mohan Dutta (Balasore) and BJD legislator Bishnu Das (Tirtol).
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