By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, October 20, 2019: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are locked in a keen contest for the bypoll to Bijepur assembly seat in Bargarh district, which will be held on Monday. The Congress is struggling to pull it off.

The by-election to the politically sensitive constituency in west Odisha was necessitated after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who had won two segments in the assembly polls held early this year, resigned from Bijepur and retained his home turf Hinjili in Ganjam district.

Though there are five candidates in the fray, the contest is mainly between ruling BJD candidate Rita Sahu and BJP’s Sanat Gartia in Bijepur, which was earlier a Congress bastion.

The Congress has fielded its Bargarh district unit vice-president Dillip Kumar Panda, seen as a greenhorn, in the assembly segment.

The high decibel campaign in the constituency came to an end on Saturday evening.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for conducting “free and fair” election in 285 polling stations where 2,32,264 people will exercise their franchise, Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), S K Lohani said.

129 polling stations have been identified as critical, he said.

Concrete steps have been taken to ensure hassle-free voting in six polling stations, vulnerable to left-wing extremism, he said.

Security personnel are being deployed in the booths to maintain law and order and to ensure smooth polling, a senior police officer said.

Polling will be held from 7 am till 6 pm.

Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik had campaigned in Bijepur for two days on Thursday and Friday for the party’s nominee while Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi hit the campaign trail for saffron party candidate.

Congress campaign, which remained somewhat lacklustre, saw OPCC President Niranjan Patnaik and party legislators seeking mandate for its candidate.

The counting of votes will be held on October 24.