The mid-summer temperature hovering around 40 degree Celsius failed to deter the two top politicians of Odisha from campaigning for their candidates of the Jharsuguda Assembly by-election on Sunday.

For the ruling BJD, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought support for party candidate Deepali Das. On the other hand, Union Minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan held road-shows in Jharsugud town and a massive public rally at Badabahal appealing to voters to elect his party nominee Tankadhar Tripathy.

And Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Patnaik along with senior leaders such Suresh Kuar Routray, Bijay Patnaik and Kishore Patel made-door-to-door campaigning in the Jharsuguda, Kirmira and Kolabira block areas for party candidate Tarun Pande.

The day marked the BJP entourage launching a vociferous diatribe against the BJD and its leader Naveen Patnaik at the Badabahal public rally. Dharmendra Pradhan, party State president Manmohan Samal, former State presidents Samir Mohanty, KV Singh Deo and MP Jual Oram and many other senior leaders alleged a “complete collapse” of law and order in the State, lack of employment opportunities for youths, absence of doctors and paramedics in hospitals.

They also blamed the State Government for the recent communal clashes in Sambalpur city which left a tribal man dead. Dharmendra Pradhan equated the BJD Government with Kalapahad, a 16th-century converted Muslim commander of Gaur Sultan who destroyed many temples in Odisha.

Naveen Patnaik, on his part, asked people to vote for Deepali Das for “resuming” the development work begun by her father Naba Kisore Das, the incumbent MLA who was assassinated by an Assistant Sub-Inspector of police in Jharsuguda on January 29 this year.

The CM launched a counter-offensive against the BJP on the issue of the saffron party questioning the silence of Deepali on the mysterious murder of her father.

"Like (the by-poll in) Padampur where the BJP made some unsavoury remarks against our woman candidate Barsha Singh Bariha who had just lost her father and incumbent MLA Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha, here in Jharsuguda also that very party is speaking ill of our candidate Deepali. This has hurt me very much. I appeal to all of you to teach them a lesson by overwhelmingly voting for our nominee," he said.

The Jharsuguda by-poll is scheduled on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.