BHUBANESWAR: It’s official. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced that former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain (Raja) will be the BJD candidate for Athagarh Assembly Constituency. Bypoll to the constituency will be held on March 18. Swain recently got a Supreme Court verdict in his favour when it annulled the 2009 election to Athagarh of BJD-supported Independent Ramesh Chandra Rout. “Ranendra Pratap Swain will again be the BJD candidate for Athagarh byelection. I am optimistic that Swain will get the blessings of the people of Athagarh,” Naveen told mediapersons here. Swain could not contest the 2009 Assembly poll from Athagarh as his nomination paper was rejected at the eleventh hour. The former minister challenged the rejection in the Orissa High Court which declared the election of Rout as null and void. Rout challenged the Orissa High Court verdict in the Supreme Court which last month upheld the earlier order. The Supreme Court also directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct byelection to Athagarh. The Congress has also started the process of selecting candidate for the bypoll. While the meeting of the State Election Committee of the party has been convened on February 22, a meeting of local leaders has already been held to discuss the issue. The BJP has also decided to field its candidate. But the selection process is yet to start.
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