Narasingha Mishra slams EC over delay in Bijepur Bypoll Dates

ONI Bureau: Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra has taken strong exception to the unprecedented delay in announcement of dates for Bijepur bypoll, wondering the EC is really working at the behest of BJP.

The Bijepur assembly seat in Bargarh district fell vacant following the demise of late Congress MLA Subal Sahu four months ago on August 22, 2017. His wife Rita Sahu later joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) a month later and got ticket to contest the bypoll.

While many leaders and workers from both BJD and BJP have switched sides in the recent months, the Congress has been silent on Bijepur for long.

The Election Commission on Thursday announced bypoll dates for Lok Sabha constituencies of Alwar and Ajmer as well as Mandalgarh assembly seat of Rajasthan. In addition, West Bengal’s Uluberia parliamentary seat and Noapara Assembly will also go to polls on the same day on January 29.

However, the EC yet again skipped Bijepur although the seat fell vacant on August 22. On other hand, it announced bypolls in the seats in Rajasthan and West Bengal which fell vacant either in the same month or later. Narasingha Mishra expressed concerns over the allegations that as the BJP is not ready for Bijepur, the EC has deferred the polls there.