Campaign for Bijepur by-poll to end today

Bargarh: The high-voltage campaign for the by-poll to Bijepur assembly constituency will end on Thursday evening.

The Bijepur by-poll will be held on February 24 while the counting of votes will be held on February 28.

The political campaign will end by 5 pm and the as per the Election Commission guidelines there will be no campaign-related activities afterwards to ensure free and neutral election.

The Bijepur by-poll is set to witness a triangular fight with leaders of Congress, BJP and BJD leaving no stone unturned to register a victory that is likely to impact on the 2019 general elections.

The campaign witnessed the top leaders of various parties, including Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, BJP leader and Union Ministers Jual Oram, Dharmendra Pradhan, Smriti Irani and Congress State unit president Prasad Harichandan reaching out to voters with hectic campaign schedules seeking votes in favour of their respective candidates.

All parties are keen to make a mark in the election as it is being considered as a semifinal before the state goes for the general election in 2019.

The death of Subal Sahu of Congress in August last year necessitated the by poll.

While Subal’s wife Rita Sahu is the BJD candidate for the by-election, Congress has fielded Pranay Sahu. BJP has fielded Ashok Panigrahi for the ensuing by-election.