NILAMBAZAR, Oct 15 - The byelection in Ratabari LAC is likely to witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP. Bijoy Malakar of the BJP and the Congress candidate Keshab Prashad Rajok have been organising a series of road shows in various parts of the constituency with their supporters to woo the voters.
The Ratabari constituency comprises four zila parishad segments � RamkrishnaNagar, Anipur, Bhairab Nagar and Ratabari.
This time, altogether, four candidates are in the fray. They are Keshab Prashad Rajok (INC), Bijoy Malakar ( BJP), Birendra Rabidas (SUCI) and Parikhit Das (Independent).
Experts, who are closely monitoring the election dynamics, are of the view that though the main fight is likely to be confined between the Congress and the BJP, yet SUCI candidates are expected to play a crucial role. Citing an example, they said Birendra Rabidas, who is an SUCI candidate, is likely to hit the vote bank of the BJP as he has a strong presence in the rural areas for voicing the rights of the indigenous people specifically in garden areas.
Similarly, in the last election, AIUDF�s candidate Rajib Das polled 17,000 votes. But the AIUDF has not fielded any candidate in this election. So, the minority voters may extend their support to the Congress candidate. As minority voters play an important role, Keshab Prashad Rajok is likely to get more minority votes. On the other hand, Queen Oja (BJP) is now focusing on the rural areas with development agenda.
