NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday named Tarun Pandey, son of former party MLA Biren Pandey, as its candidate for the May 10 Jharsuguda assembly by-poll in Odisha.
An Odisha Pradesh Congress team headed by senior leader and party’s Kantabanji MLA Santosh Singh Saluja had recently recommended Pandey and Mahendra Naik, who contested the 2019 assembly elections from Jharsuguda, for the upcoming by-election.
Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Shri Tarun Pandey for the ensuing by-election of Jharsuguda Assembly constituency. @SaratPatINC #JharsugudaByPoll #Jharsuguda pic.twitter.com/GaeUiWyyFF
— Odisha Congress (@INCOdisha) April 10, 2023
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Tarun Pandey as its candidate for the ensuing by-election to the Jharsuguda assembly, an All India Congress Committee release said.
The by-poll to Jharsuguda was necessitated after the murder of state minister and MLA Naba Kishore Das.
Das, breathed his last on January 29 evening, hours after he was shot by a policeman at Gandhi Chhak in Brajrajnagar area of Jharsuguda district, where he had gone to attend an event.
Thanking the Congress leadership for reposing faith in him, Tarun Pandey said that the by-election will be “a challenging task”, and alleged that the ruling ”BJD used to spend a lot of money and official machinery in favour of its candidate”.
The congress nominee is the son of the party’s former legislator Biren Pandey, who died last month. He was elected thrice to the Odisha assembly from Jharsuguda. The BJD has fielded Depali Das, the daughter of slain ex-minister. The BJP is yet to announce name of its candidate for the by-poll. The nomination process for the by-election will begin on April 13 and continue till April 20. The counting of votes will take place on May 13.
Source: Press Trust of India
