Leaders of the ruling BJD as well as the opposition Congress and the BJP have started to reach Kandhamal district to campaign for the elections for two urban local bodies — Phulbani Municipality and G. Udaygiri Notified Area Council (NAC).
Polling will be conducted there on December 2 and the campaign will end on November 30. These are the last urban bodies in the State where elections are being held.
BJD upbeat
After its good show in the urban body polls in western Odisha and other parts of the State earlier, the ruling BJD is leaving no stone unturned to repeat its success in Kandhamal district too.
The Congress and the BJP are trying hard to make a mark in the two urban bodies. The BJP, in particular, wants to make its presence felt as the Sangh Parivar has considerable say in the district.
The BJD campaign is being monitored by Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh and MLAs from outside Kandhamal district such as Sarada Nayak, Pradeep Panigrahy, and Purna Chanbdar Swain. They are camping in the district.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena and Congress MP of Nabarangpur Pradeep Majhi reached Phulbani on Thursday to lead the campaign.
Senior BJP leaders such as former Ministers Manmohan Samal and Surama Padhi are in Kandhamal district to monitor the campaign of the party.
Number of wards
Both the local bodies have 13 wards each. In Phulbani, 63 candidates are in the fray. The BJD, the Congress, and the BJP have fielded candidates in all the 13 wards.
In G. Udaygiri, the BJD and the Congress have candidates in all the 13 wards. The BJP has fielded nine candidates and the NCP two.
