All Roads Now Lead To Battleground Nuapada; BJP, BJD, Congress Brace For Fierce Bypoll Fight

Bhubaneswar: Political temperatures are running high in western Odisha as Nuapada assembly constituency gears up for a high-stakes bypoll that is set to test the strength and strategies of the ruling BJP, the BJD, and the Congress. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is slated to visit Nuapada on Monday on a one-day tour, during which he is likely to lay foundation stones for several projects and announce a slew of developmental initiatives. The visit, coming ahead of the by-election, is seen as a clear signal that the BJP is going all out to retain its hold on the region.

The bypoll was necessitated by the untimely demise of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, whose passing created a political vacuum in the constituency. The battle for Nuapada is now shaping up as a triangular contest among the BJP, BJD, and Congress—each determined to prove its political mettle in western Odisha.

In the 2024 assembly election, Dholakia of the BJD had secured 61,822 votes, while Congress rebel Ghasiram Majhi, who contested as an Independent, polled 50,941 votes, emerging as a close runner-up. The Congress’s official nominee, Sarat Pattanayak, lagged far behind with 15,501 votes, while the BJP candidate Abhinandan Panda finished third, managing just over 440,814 votes.

With the BJP now in power in Odisha after its 2024 Assembly victory, the Nuapada bypoll is expected to serve as a litmus test of the ruling party’s popularity and governance model in the western belt, traditionally considered the BJD’s stronghold. The BJD, on the other hand, is determined to reclaim lost ground under the leadership of party president Naveen Patnaik and reassert its influence in the region that was once a bastion of the party.

The Congress, which performed relatively better in parts of western Odisha in the last general elections, is also keen to make a comeback by consolidating the anti-incumbency votes.

The Nuapada bypoll carries significance far beyond a single assembly seat. For the BJP, it is about consolidating its post-2024 dominance and expanding its rural footprint. For the BJD, it’s a chance to revive its presence in a region slipping away from its control. And for the Congress, even a respectable performance could signal the beginning of a slow revival.

As campaign strategies intensify and leaders from all major parties line up for rallies and roadshows, Nuapada has effectively become the new political epicentre of western Odisha—a microcosm of the evolving political equations in post-Naveen Odisha.