BHUBANESWAR: With the General Elections approaching fast, lobbying for poll tickets among aspirants of different parties has reached a feverish pitch in Bhadrak Assembly segment.
The incumbent MLA of BJD and veteran leader Jugal Kishore Patnaik has made it clear that he won’t be contesting the polls this time due to old age. The ruling party, thus, is weighing its options and looking beyond old faces to retain the seat from which it has been winning since 2009.
Jugal’s son Asit Patnaik, who hopes to inherit the political legacy of his father, is among the aspirants for BJD ticket from Bhadrak. With Jugal’s failing health taking a toll on his political activities, Asit has been looking after the party affairs in the area for the last four years.
Giving Asit tough competition in the ticket race is Sitanshu Sekhar Mohapatra, an emerging youth leader in Bhadrak. Despite not having any political godfather, this 37-year-old entrepreneur is giving many local veteran leaders a run for their money with his strong support base among youths.
Sanjib Mallick, brother of former MLA Manas Mallick, has also thrown his hat in the ring for a ruling party ticket, this time from Bhadrak. In 2014 elections, Sanjib had unsuccessfully lobbied for a BJD ticket from Chandbali Assembly seat. Former DRDA chairman Jagannath Swain is another aspirant eyeing for the ruling party ticket.
Congress, the second successful party after BJD in the last elections, is also yet to finalise its candidate from the seat. Naren Palei, brother of former MLA Biren Palei, is hopeful of getting the party ticket this time too. In the 2014 polls, Naren had bagged around 55,000 votes but lost to Jugal by nearly 24,000 votes.
OPCC secretary Debarupa Mohanty too is trying his luck for Congress ticket from Bhadrak. Debarupa boasts of a strong rural vote base and has been an active member of Congress since the 90s. Nalini Kanta Mohanty, a youth Congress leader, is another contender for the party ticket. Nalini’s support base mainly consists of youths.
The BJP’s choices are also limited to three aspirants. Dr Pradeep Nayak, who stood a distant third in the 2014 elections by securing a mere around 8,000 votes, is the front-runner in the ticket race. Tushar Jena and district BJP Mahila Morcha president Manasmita Khuntia are also eyeing for party ticket from Bhadrak.