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Bhaleswar: As one drives through the dusty lanes of bypoll-bound Nuapada assembly constituency in western Odisha, the walls of homes, schools, and government offices are plastered with colourful postevying for attention. The political graffiti tells its own story — of shifting loyalties, legacy politics, and the test of regional pride. Nuapada, a border district adjoining Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund, will go to polls on November 11 following the death of sitting Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. His passing triggered a contest that has quickly turned into a prestige battle between the BJD, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. Initially, the BJD had almost finalised Jay Dholakia, the late MLA’s son, as its candidate — a move in keeping with the party’s bypoll tradition of banking on dynastic sympathy. But in a surprise twist, Jay defected to the BJP, which promptly fielded him as its nominee. Caught off guard, the BJD scrambled for a replacement and chose Snehangini Chhuria, the party’s women’s wing president and a two-time MLA from neighbouring Bargarh district. But her nomination has stirred discontent among local voters, who question why a candidate from 160 kilometres away should represent Nuapada. Sensing the backlash, the BJD appears to have recalibrated its campaign. Early posters prominently featuring Chhuria alongside party supremo Naveen Patnaik have been quietly replaced. The new visuals showcase Patnaik, flanked by portraits of Biju Patnaik — after whom the party is named — and the late Rajendra Dholakia, in what observers describe as a symbolic retreat to emotional and legacy politics. Meanwhile, the BJP has weaponised Chhuria’s “outsider” image, turning it into a rallying cry. Its campaign slogan — “Hamare area mein jiska nahi Aadhaar card, uski yahan parchi fad” (“Tear up the voter slip of anyone who doesn’t belong to Nuapada”) — has struck a chord among local voters. The Congress, though lagging behind in organisational muscle, hopes to cut through the polarisation with its tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi as candidate. Party posters featuring Majhi, PCC president Bhakta Charan Das, and Rahul Gandhi attempt to revive the Congress’s traditional base in the tribal-dominated region. As election day nears, Nuapada stands at the crossroads of legacy and localism — where sympathy meets suspicion, and every poster on every wall whispers a different story of Odisha’s shifting political ground.
