Top Political Leaders to Campaign in Nuapada Ahead of November 11 Bypoll

Bhubaneswar: With the Nuapada Assembly by-election scheduled for November 11, major political parties have intensified their campaigns, deploying top leaders to woo voters in the region.

The Congress has announced that Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will campaign for party candidate Ghasiram Majhi at Salebhata in Nuapada on November 7, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) informed through its official X (Twitter) handle.

Revanth Reddy is among the Congress party’s 40 star campaigners for the bypoll, which also includes Telangana Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, and former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot.

Meanwhile, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik will campaign for BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria on November 3 (Monday). The five-time former Chief Minister is scheduled to visit Komna block under the Nuapada constituency and interact with local residents.

The BJD has deployed around 50 senior leaders, including several former ministers, to lead its campaign efforts in the constituency.

On the other hand, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has mobilized eight ministers—half of the state’s Council of Ministers—to canvass for its candidate Jay Dholakia. Each minister has been assigned one zone in the constituency. Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo and senior BJP leader Jaynarayan Mishra have been entrusted with the overall supervision of the BJP campaign.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who has already visited Nuapada several times, is also expected to join the campaign trail soon to seek votes for Dholakia.

The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. A four-time legislator from Nuapada since 2004, Dholakia had first won as an independent candidate and later retained the seat on a BJD ticket in 2009, 2019, and 2024.

In the 2024 Assembly polls, Dholakia had defeated independent candidate Ghasiram Majhi by a margin of around 11,000 votes, securing 61,822 votes against Majhi’s 50,941. BJP candidate Abhinandan Panda, son of former MP Basanta Panda, finished third with 44,814 votes, while Congress nominee Sarat Patnaik secured the fourth position with 15,501 votes.