Congress picks Tarun Pandey for Jharsuguda by-poll
The Congress announced Tarun Pandey as its candidate for the May 10 by-election in Jharsuguda, Odisha.
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Bhubaneswar: The Congress announced Tarun Pandey as its candidate for the May 10 by-election in Jharsuguda, Odisha.
"Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved Tarun Pandey's candidacy as Congress candidate for the upcoming by-election to the legislative assembly of Odisha - Jharsuguda," according to an AICC release.
According to sources, an Odisha Congress team led by senior leader and MLA Santosh Singh Saluja recommended his name for the by-election, along with Mahendra Naik, who ran in the 2019 Assembly elections from Jharsuguda. Tarun is the son of Biren Pandey, a former Jharsuguda MLA who died last month. In 1980, 1985, and 1995, the former MLA was elected to the Odisha Assembly on a Congress ticket.
The Congress chose Tarun in the hope of winning sympathy votes due to his father's recent death, while the ruling BJD chose Deepali Das, daughter of Naba Kishore Das, whose death necessitated the bypoll, to capitalize on the sympathy wave, according to sources.
While the BJP has yet to announce its candidate, Deogarh MLA Subhash Panigrahi hinted on Monday that state party secretary Tankadhar Tripathy could be fielded from the Jharsuguda Assembly seat.
The bypoll nomination period will begin on April 13 and end on April 20.
