BJD to face tough challenge in Umerkote by-election

BHUBANESWAR: The popularity of Orissa chief minister and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will be on test as political parties have started hectic preparation for the coming by-election into the Umerkote assembly seat to be held on November 30. By-poll to the seat was necessitated following assassination of BJD legislator Jagabandh Majhi on September 24 by three unidentified persons.

The ensuing by-poll is likely to be tough for the ruling party, which is banking on sympathy factor in the aftermath of the murder of its legislator. “Jagabandhu Majhi has made supreme sacrifice for the sake of the local people. We will nominate a person close to him and we are sure of retaining the seat,” BJD strategist and Rajya Sabha MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra said.

The BJD, however, faces serious competition from its erstwhile partner-inpower BJP at the hustings. Incidentally, when the two parties were political allies , it was the BJP's Dharmu Gond who had won from the seat in 2004. After they parted company in 2009 polls, the slain BJD leader Majhi defeated Gond. The BJP has already declared party’s local leader Dharmu Ganda, but Congress and BJD are yet announce their nominees for the by-poll for which nomination process begins on Saturday.