An Independent candidate, Sameer Kumar Kar, withdrew his nomination papers for the October 15 Kandhamal lok Sabha bypoll on Monday, the last day of withdrwal of papers.
There are now a total of seven candidates left in the fray for the high-profile Parliamentary seat. Besides BJP candidate Rudra Madhab Ray, BJD candidate Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh, wife of late MP Hemendra Chandra Singh, and Congress candidate Abhimanyu Behera, the four other candidates include Muhammad Ziauddin Ahmed of the Indian Citizens’ Party, Kulamani Urma of the Pashimanchal Vikash Party and two independent candidates.
Kar told reporters that he withdrew his nomination after Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena requested him to do so. Notably, the bypoll to the seat has been necessitated by the demise of Hemendra Singh on September 5.
