Bhubaneswar: On Friday, Naveen Patnaik, the Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly and president of the BJD, announced in a video message his upcoming visit to the Nuapada Assembly constituency to support the party candidate in the upcoming by-election scheduled for November 11. He plans to campaign in the Komna block for candidate Snehangini Chhuria. In his video, delivered in the Sambalpuri dialect, Patnaik greeted the community, stating, “Jay Jagannath, dear brothers and sisters of Komna. I will visit Komna on November 3.
I will meet you all and speak to you.” He also engaged with the audience, asking, “Apana mane khusi ta?” (Are you happy?) and offered a traditional greeting, ‘Juhar.’ According to Arani Ranjan Joshi, the BJD Nuapada district president, Patnaik is scheduled to hold a public meeting in Komna on November 3 and may return on November 7 to campaign for Chhuria. Joshi noted that Patnaik’s visit is expected to excite the voters in Nuapada. He highlighted that Naveen Patnaik’s father, Biju Patnaik, established Nuapada as a separate district in 1993, and credited Naveen with fostering development in the region. The Nuapada by-election is anticipated to feature a three-way contest among candidates from the ruling BJP, BJD, and Congress.
This election was prompted by the passing of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, with Dholakia’s son Jay Dholakia representing the BJP.