Another Odisha minister gets HC notice

Yet another minister of Naveen Patnaik government--Sanjay Kumar Dasburma--got a notice from Orissa High Court today in a poll-related writ petition challenging his election to the assembly from Brahmagiri constituency held in April this year.
Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, who lost to Dasburma by a slender margin of 1341 votes in a seven-cornered contest in Brahmagiri segment of Puri district, has alleged in his petition that the entire process of election and counting in his constituency were not done in proper manner.
Charging that widespread rigging of votes in several booths of the constituency was reported, the Congress leader has urged the High Court to quash the election of the BJD leader and order for a by-election.

Earlier the High Court had admitted a petition challenging the election of minister Badrinarayan Patra who had won from Hasipura segment of Keonjhar district.
Besides Dasburma, Laxmipur MLA Kailash Chandra Kulesika of Congress and Soro legislator Parshuram Dhada of BJD were also issued notices by the High Court as three separate petitions had challenged their elections to the assembly.
Similarly, BJD's Nabarangpur Lok Sabha member Balabhadra Majhi's election came under the scrutiny of the High Court as former MP and local Congress leader Pradeep Kumar Majhi has questioned the BJD leader's win in the elections held simultaneously with the assembly polls three months ago.

The single-judge bench of Justice Shatrughna Pujahari has issued notices to the three MLAs and the lone Lok Sabha MP asking them to file their counters in affidavits within three weeks so that further hearings on the petitions could be taken up again on August 21.