A total of 1,718 candidates are in the fray for the polls to 66 out of 91 urban local bodies (UlBs) to be held on September 19 as the State Election Commission announced to postpone the elections to the 25 UlBs in nine western Odisha districts due to non-filing of nominations following the ongoing bandh called by the Central Action Committee (CAC) of the bar associations of the region demanding establishment of a High Court Bench.
While nominations were filed partly in five UlBs, not a single nomination was filed in rest of the twenty UlBs spread over nine districts, including Sambalpur, Balangir, Sonepur, Bargarh, Deogarh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Sundergarh and Jharsuguda districts. Talking to newsmen, on the ongoing UlB election process, State Election Commissioner Ajit Tripathy said that it was decided to postpone the elections in 25 UlBs in nine western Odisha districts following the reports of the concerned District Collectors.
However, on the question of holding fresh elections, he said that the dates would only be decided after consultation with the Home Department and Urban Development Department. Meanwhile, the SEC had declared the final list of candidates after the withdrawal of valid nominations on Thursday. According to the SEC sources, as many as 1,718 candidates are in the fray for the 66 UlB elections. With the stage set for the fight, highest 698 candidates from ruling BJD are in the fray while 466 candidates from Congress will be trying their fate on the September 19.
BJP remains third as far as fielding of candidates is concerned. The party had given only 311 candidates. As many as 211 Independent candidates are in the race for the urban elections. While NCP and Samajwadi party have fielded 11 candidates each, JMM had given 11, CPI two and BSP fielded only one candidate.