Pipili: Congress candidate Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra on Monday filed his nomination for the upcoming by-election to Pipili constituency in Puri district.
Mohapatra is the second candidate to be roped in by the Congress after the party’s first nominee Ajit Mangaraj succumbed to Covid-19 infection just three days ahead of the by-election which was initially scheduled for April 17. Later, it was rescheduled by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Mohapatra along with other party supporters took out a rally from Puri Congress Bhawan with strict compliance of Covid-19 restrictions and submitted his nomination papers at the office of the additional Collector.
“The Congress party’s position is very strong in the constituency and that he is optimistic that people will vote in his favour,” said Mohapatra.
Mohapatra said that, “The position of Congress party is very strong here and after the demise of Ajit Mangaraj our party workers are working hard. Ajit Babu had already done half the work and his demise and my candidature are the only changes,” he said.
Asked about his winnability, Mohapatra said the people will decide the fate of the candidates in fray.
The crucial bypoll to Pipili seat is scheduled for May 16. The bypoll which was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy was initially scheduled for April 17. However, it was countermanded following the death of Congress candidate, Ajit Mangaraj (52), due to Covid-19 on April 14, just three days ahead of the scheduled poll date.
Later, the Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) rescheduled the bypoll to May 13. However, the Election Commission once again rescheduled the by-election to May 16 in view of Eid al-Fitr.
(Edited By Vikash Sharma)