Bhadrak: Electioneering for the bypoll to the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency in this district has acquired feverish pitch Friday while state and central leaders of the BJP and the senior leaders of BJD have been campaigning relentlessly for their respective candidates for last four days. The seat is going to see a four-cornered contest as Congress and Independent candidates in the fray are leaving no stone unturned to woo voters. Streets, lanes and bylanes of the coastal seat have worn a festive look as they are dotted with banners and posters of the candidates. Bike rallies, meetings and road shows are being organised on a regular basis by the BJP and BJD.
Friday, Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a meeting of party functionaries and workers at Agrasen Bhawan in Bhadrak and reviewed the execution of their strategies and campaigning for Suryavanshi Suraj, son of late MLA Bishnu Sethi. Pradhan advised party workers to woo voters by highlighting the popularity of late leader Bishnu Sethi and welfare schemes of the Central government while canvassing for party nominee Suryavanshi Suraj. The youth BJP leader was seen visiting houses well before his name was announced by the party. He is the first one to launch campaigning. Suraj has pinned hope on his father’s public relations for his victory. He is also maling all-out efforts to woo voters. He along with his supporters and party workers is seen going around villages seeking people’s support for him. BJP state president Samir Mohanty, former state prabhari (in-charge) D Purandeswari, former minister Manmohan Samal, state leaders like Golak Mohapatra, Kalindi Samal, Abhimanyu Sethi, Sipra Bajpai and many other leaders were seen hitting the campaign trail.
At the same time, BJD has engaged many star campaigners for party’s pick Abanti Das. The party leaders and workers are organising bike rallies and road shows in several panchayats. BJD leaders like Pritiranjan Ghadei, Pranab Balabantray, Revenue Minister Pramila Mallick, MP Majulata Mandal, Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Deo, Prafulla Samal, Sanjib Mallick and Amar Satpathy were seen participating in road shows and rallies in various parts of Dhamnagar. BJD says it is confident of the party candidate’s victory by a huge margin.
On the other hand, Congress candidate for the bypoll, Baba Harekrushna Sethi has not fallen behind. He along with his army of supporters and party workers has stepped up campaigning in several panchayats. Independent candidate Rajendra Das, who was expelled from the BJD for anti-party activities, is also campaigning and leaving no stones unturned. He is visiting all panchayats and villages along with his supporters, claiming that the voters in Dhamnagar are always with him. According to political observers, Das has made the fight tougher for the state’s ruling party