Bhadrak: BJP candidate Suryabanshi Suraj Tuesday filed nomination paper for the November 3 by-poll to the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.
Suraj is the son of party leader Bishnu Charan Sethi whose death necessitated the by-election.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and opposition Congress are yet to announce the names of their candidates. The last date for filing the nomination paper is October 14.
Suraj went to the office of the deputy collector and election officer Laxmiprasad Sahu in a procession and filed his nomination paper.
BJP state president Samir Mohanty, Leader of the Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra and other senior leaders attended the rally.
“The people of Dhamnagar had elected Bishnu Charan Sethi for five years. It will be the real tribute to Bishnu Babu if the voters give their blessings also to Suraj, his son,” Mohanty said.
Before filing the nomination paper, Suraj and other senior leaders visited Sethi’s memorial at his native Mangarajpur village under Tihidi police station limits.
Sethi had won from the Dhamnagar seat by a margin of 4,625 votes in 2019. While he polled 80,111 votes, Rajendra K Das of BJD got 75,486.
The BJD has won all five by-polls held since 2019 when the last Assembly election was held in the state.
This is likely to be the last by-poll before the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha due in 2024.
PTI