india

Updated: Oct 01, 2019 10:05 IST

President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Niranjan Patnaik has requested common people and well-wishers of the party to donate funds to enable the party meet election expenses for the bypoll elections for Bijepur Assembly constituency scheduled to be held on October 21. Bypoll to Bijepur assembly constituency is being held after chief minister Naveen Patnaik vacated it.

His appeal for funds came as party candidate Dilip Panda filed nominations for the Bijepur bypoll today. “The party will spend funds for contesting the Bijepur by-poll, but it will be not enough to meet the expenses. Congress is not in a situation to match the expenses of ruling BJD and BJP,” said Patnaik, who with declared assets of Rs 60 crore was among the richest MLA candidates for the Assembly election this year.

Earlier this month, the party was in news when Itish Pradhan, the former state convenor of NSUI, students’ wing of Congress, threatened to hurl eggs at Patnaik blaming him for the poor condition of the party in the State.

After ending up with its lowest-ever tally and lowest ever vote percentage in 2019 assembly polls, Congress in Odisha is in a moribund state. While the AICC rejected the offer of resignation by Patnaik, the party has not launched any campaign since the day it lost the polls.

Patnaik said the party has so far got Rs 25,000 as cash donation and an assurance of another Rs 75,000. He asked people to donate as much as they can donate. In the 2019 polls, ruling BJD had spent Rs 227.79 crore, its highest-ever expenditure while Congress and BJP are yet to submit their expenditure statements to the EC.

The Election Commission of India set limit of expenses for an Assembly constituency at Rs 28 lakh per candidate during 2019 assembly polls. It has not set such limits for the Bijepur bypoll.