Overview
- Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai campaigned in Nuapada for BJP candidate Jay Dholakia.
- The two leaders accused BJD president Naveen Patnaik of betraying Nuapada's trust and of neglecting late MLA Rajendra Dholakia during his illness.
- Majhi alleged BJD double standards on defections, citing cases such as Tusharkanti Behera in Kakatpur and the Subal–Rita Sahu episode in Bijepur.
- Sai criticized Patnaik for not learning Odia over 24 years in office and contrasted him with Kalahandi MP Malavika Devi, with no immediate response from the BJD or Congress reported.
- The bypoll, necessitated by Rajendra Dholakia’s death, is being cast as a prestige battle as the BJP also questions the BJD’s pick of Snehangini Chhuria as an outsider.