Dhenkanal Parliamentary constituency is all set for a tough fight with two-time BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy taking a four cornered challenge.
The candidature of Sudhir Samal from Congress this time, who is fairly popular in the area, and the candidature of Suparno Satpathy, nephew of Tathagata, from Ama Odisha Party has set the stage for a high voltage contest giving BJD a hard time. Tathagata’s traditional rival from BJP, Rudra Narayan Pany, who too is the nominee this time, is no mean opponent riding on Modi wave.
Though BJD’s base seems to be in tact in the constituency, what is troubling Tathagata is the anti-incumbency under-current in a section of the electorate and antagonism from at least three party MLA nominees for Assembly segments in particular. This became apparent after Rajani Kanta Singh, Nrusingha Sahu and Mahesh Sahu BJD’s MLA nominees from Angul, Parjang and Pallahara respectively were conspicuous by their absence during Satpathy’s filing of nomination papers on March 25.
Though Suparno is a green horn at the hustings, his entry is bound to queer the pitch for his uncle as he is likely to dig into the family vote bank created by his grandmother and former chief minister Nandini Satpathy and her former MP husband Debendra Satpathy.
Though Congress feels to have fielded a strong candidate against Tathagata in Sudhir Samal, a former MLA, his nomination has not gone down well with former Union minister KP Singhdeo who represented this seat for three decades in the Parliament. Samal’s performance largely depends on how the supporters of Singhdeo behave.
Former Rajya Sabha member and BJP candidate Rudra Narayan Pany though a popular face in the constituency and is known to be a formidable opponent has, however, never won a Lok Sabha election despite contesting it four times in the past.
As things stand now, he is ahead of his rivals in campaigning and is focusing on door to door movement. He is hopeful of a victory because he has always been with the people particularly on issues of rehabilitation, resettlement and environment in a sensitive constituency like this which has witnessed large scale industrialisation and is home to massive coal deposit.
ROAD BLOCKS
■ Sudhir Samal from Congress and Suparno Satpathy, nephew of Tathagata, from Ama Odisha Party in fray
■ Anti-incumbency in a section of the electorate and antagonism from three party MLA nominees
■ Traditional rival from BJP, Rudra Narayan Pany, is no mean opponent riding on Modi wave