Birmaharajpur (Orissa), Sept 24: Campaigning for the September 26 byelection to this sleepy assembly constituency ended this afternoon. The electioneering in the forgotten backwaters of the state reached a crescendo this week as the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and a host of ministers belonging to the ruling BJD criss-crossed the constituency.

The BJD, the death of whose sitting member Baishnab Pradhan in a road accident last may necessitated the bypoll, is pulling out all stops to ensure the victory of its candidate Sanjib Sahu. Ironically, Sahu's biggest threat has come from Pradhan's widow, Pushpanjali Pradhan, who is contesting the byelection as an independent.

The Congress has set up a new face, Ashok Purohit, while the fourth candidate in the fray is Ghanashyam Bhoi of the RPI. But the contest is expected to be confined mainly between the BJD, Congress and independent aspirants.

Pradhan had jumped into the fray after being denied the BJD ticket and some party leaders were apprehensive of the widow garnering sizeable support by playing the sympathy card. Baishnab Pradhan had defeated the present BJD nominee Sahu by over 6,000 votes in the last assembly polls when the latter contested as a rebel after being denied the party ticket. Pradhan's wife was now the rebel while Sahu wore the official mantle.

Bureau Report