Puri: As Pipili Assembly Constituency is gearing up for a fierce electoral battle on April 17, the campaign trail heated up with the announcement that BJD supremo and CM Naveen Patnaik will soon be arriving in the segment to campaign for party candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy.
The decision was announced by the BJD observer for Pipili By-election and Rajya Sabha member Pratap Deb after a meeting at his residence on Monday.
With a hope that the news of CM Naveen campaigning for Maharathy will instill confidence and boost morale of the BJD workers, Pratap Deb said, “Our candidate has been doing rounds in the constituency and already completed almost 70% of the area. And as far as CM Naveen Patnaik is concerned, he has always campaigned in all elections and this will be no different.”
“We will inform the date of his visit to Pipili once it is confirmed,” Deb added.
BJD’s candidate Rudra Pratap Maharathy campaigned at Kanti, Panidola and Dandamukundapur Panchayats
Meanwhile, BJP’s start campaigner and National Spokesperson Sambit Patra visited Pipili on Monday and campaigned for party’s candidate Ashrit Pattanayak at Jashuapur and Birapurushottampur village. “People of Odisha want a Double Engine government and it would be initiated from Pipili.
Similarly, Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj held a bike rally at Sauria Panchayat under Delang block asking for votes for him.
While undertaking a Padyatra at Jashuapur, Patra came across a broken home the occupant of which, Kunti Bhoi narrated her ordeal in front of him. “It has been two years since cyclone Fani blew away our house, and since then we are forced to live under the polythene cover,” said Bhoi.
“We ran from pillar to post for Fani assistance that the State government had promised, but we got nothing,” rued Bhoi.
(Edited By Ramakanta Biswas)