As many as 11 candidates of various political parties, including Independent candidates, are in the fray from the Bijepur Assembly constituency in Bargarh district.
But the fight, which seems to be a multi-cornered one, will be chiefly fought between Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya (BJD), Subal Sahu (Congress), Jayashankar Pattanaik (BJP) and Ashok Panigrahi (Independent).
Here, the Independent candidate will play a vital role. Though Acharya will leave no stone unturned to register a win from the seat, Sahu of Congress will be a tough nut to crack for him. Sahu is a two-time MlA from here and Bijepur is said to be his forte.
Bijepur voters are always judicious. In 1984 elections, after the death of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, all seats, except Bijepur, coming under the undivided Sambalpur district had been won by the Congress. Non Congress candidate Nikunja Bihari Singh had won then from here. In 2000, BJD candidate Ashok Panigrahi was elected, while in 2004 and 2009 elections, Sahu was elected.
Still, the BJP is expected to grab a big chunk of votes, with Modi wave making a strong impact on the voters. Independent candidate Panigrahi who was a BJD MlA in 2000 is fighting the polls with his leaflets, posters and banners containing photos of Biju Patnaik.