Bhubaneswar, April 19: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has decided not to hold any public rallies or campaign meetings in Pipili bypoll in view of the Covid-19 resurge in the state, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik said on Monday.

“Every life is precious and I always consider people of #Odisha as my family members. In this extremely serious #COVID19 situation amidst surge in cases in the country, Biju Janata Dal Odisha has decided not to hold any public rallies or campaign meetings in Pipili bypoll,” Patnaik tweeted.

BJD as a responsible party will not like to put the lives of people in danger. We contest elections to serve people. If the campaign has potential to endanger lives, I would earnestly appeal to political parties & Election Commission of India to reconsider both the duration & method of campaigning, he added.

India is a mature democracy and together we can come out with a solution. Democracy is by the people, for the people and of the people. Jai Hind, he concluded.

Notably, the process for holding byelection to the Pipili Assembly constituency in Puri district of Odisha began on Monday with the State Election Commissioner issuing the official notification.

According to the notification, the last day for filling nomination paper is April 26. Scrutiny will be held on April 27.

The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is April 29.  Polling will be held on May 13.

Worth mentioning, the Pipili by-poll, which was scheduled to be held on April 17 was postponed due to the death of the Congress candidate.