Jharsuguda: Nine candidates remain in the Jharsuguda by-election race in Odisha after one candidate, Bhubaneswar Gardia, has withdrawn his candidature from the contest. The Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Odisha Pragati Party, and independent candidates are vying for the Jharsuguda assembly seat. The election was necessitated by the death of former Health Minister Naba Kishore Das.
The candidates in the running are Tankadhar Tripathy from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Tarun Pandey from the Congress, Deepali Das from the Biju Janata Dala, Janma Rohidas from the Odisha Pragati Dal, Manish Sharma from the Odisha Janata Party, Mahendra Patnaik from the Kalinga Sena, and independent candidates Vijay Kumar Jalan, Mahendra Luha, and Gyanendra Behera.
Since the announcement of the by-poll date, there has been a surge in political activity across the constituency. The statutory notification for the referendum was published on April 13, and BJP candidate Tankadhar Tripathy filed his nomination papers on April 17. Congress candidate Tarun Pandey submitted his nomination papers on April 15, while BJD candidate Deepali Das submitted hers on April 18.
The Jharsuguda by-poll will take place on May 10, and the results will be announced on May 13.
