The high-voltage campaign for Odisha's Jharsuguda Assembly byelection came to an end on Monday.

Voting for the Assembly seat will take place on Wednesday. The outcome of the election will have a significant bearing on the prospects of major parties in the 2024 general elections.

The political temperature in western Odisha had shot up as both chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the top leaders of the BJD and the BJP respectively, hit the campaign trail in Jharsuguda on Sunday. The constituency is witnessing a by-poll following the death of former health minister Naba Kishore Das. Das was shot dead by an assistant inspector of police on January 29.

Naveen was earlier scheduled to campaign virtually in the constituency but as the party cadre felt his physical presence was needed to bolster the prospects of its candidate Deepali Das, daughter of the slain minister, the chief minister agreed to visit the constituency personally.

The BJP, which badly needs a victory ahead of the 2024 general elections, is pulling out all stops to ensure that it defeats the BJD. Pradhan, who was in Bangalore choreographing the campaign in Karnataka, flew on a special aircraft to campaign in Jharsuguda. While the BJD and the BJP, the main contenders for the seat, are engaged in a high-decibel campaign, Congress' campaign so far has been rather low-key. All three candidates — BJD's Deepali Das, Tankadhar Tripathy of the BJP and Tarun Pandey of the Congress are new entrants into electoral politics. The outcome will shape the political future of these greenhorns.

Campaigning for Deepali, Naveen said: “The people of Jharsuguda will always remember Naba Das for his works. Now his daughter Deepali has come forward to take the responsibility.” He urged the people of Jharsuguda to give a chance to Deepali to serve them.