Congress, BJP nominees file nominations in Kandhamal

Odisha Channel Bureau Phulbani, Sep 26: Congress nominee Abhimanyu Behera and Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Rudra Madhab Ray filed their nomination papers on Friday for Kandhamal Lok Sabha bye-election scheduled to be held on October 15.Both the leaders went in procession to the office of the District Collector of Kandhamal who is the Returning Officer for the by-poll and filed their papers.Senior leaders of both Congress and BJP joined their candidates to woo the Kandhamal voters.For the faction-ridden Congress, it was a rare show of unity in this district headquarters town.A large number of senior leaders from various regions of the State joined Behera’s procession.While Behera filed his papers first, Ray filed his nomination later.Five other candidates also filed nomination papers for the by-poll during the day.Behera is a former legislator from Phulbani Assembly seat, while Ray is a former Biju Janata Dal MP from Kandhamal.A total of nine candidates have filed their nominations for the by-poll as the process of filing of nominations ended on Friday.BJD nominee Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh, widow of former MP late Hemendra Chandra Singh, had filed her nomination papers on Thursday.