BJD flexes muscle in Odisha’s Nuapada ahead of nomination; BJP, Congress join campaign race

With just a day left for nomination filing, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) made a major attempt to cover lost ground in Nuapada Assembly constituency by holding a massive rally on Sunday led by party candidate Snehangini Chhuria.

Also Read: Odisha CM promises ‘double-engine’ growth for Nuapada at mega rally

Until now, BJD had appeared to lag behind BJP and Congress in both the nomination process and early campaigning.

Starting from Shiva Temple in Nuapada, the rally, joined by senior BJD leaders and star campaigners, proceeded to the District Collector’s office, showcasing strength ahead of Chhuria’s nomination on Monday.

Meanwhile, the BJP and Congress have picked up the campaign pace as their respective party candidates Jay Dholakia and Ghasiram Majhi have already filed nomination papers, and both parties are intensifying their outreach, particularly by leveraging Chhattisgarh’s socio-cultural and linguistic proximity to Nuapada.

Over 60 percent of the population in Nuapada and Komna blocks speaks Chhattisgarhi, which both BJP and Congress are using to their advantage by roping in Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister, Deputy CM, MPs, and MLAs for door-to-door campaigns. Congress has similarly lined up senior leaders, including former CM and MPs.

However, BJD is pushing back, focusing on issues like the Mahanadi water dispute and accusing Chhattisgarh and BJP of exploiting Odisha’s resources. The party hopes such local sentiments will rally voters in its favour.

The last date for nomination filing is tomorrow (October 20), after which campaign heat is expected to rise significantly. The key question remains as to which party’s narrative will win the trust of Nuapada’s voters in this high-stakes bypoll.

Worth mentioning, while the date of scrutiny of the nominations is on October 22, the last date of withdrawal of the candidature is October 24.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)-Odisha had previously announced that there are 2.48 lakh voters in the Nuapada constituency. A total of 358 polling stations will be set up, including 56 new polling stations.

The CEO had informed that webcasting will be conducted in all booths across Nuapada during the by-election.