By-election to the Pipili assembly constituency in Odisha has been postponed after Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj died of COVID-19.
The by-election was scheduled for Saturday (April 17). It was necessitated by the death of sitting BJD MLA and former Minister Pradeep Maharathy, who also lost his life to COVID-19.
Mr. Mangaraj was facing acute respiratory problem and had been admitted to a private hospital. He informed his supporters about having tested positive for coronavirus through a Facebook post on Saturday.
Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Petroleum, Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Niranjan Patnaik expressed their condolences.
Odisha on Wednesday breached the 2000-mark for the first time after the resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic.
