BHUBANESWAR: Political temperature has begun to soar high in Bhubaneswar-North Assembly segment amid hectic lobbying by aspirants for tickets from the BJD, BJP and Congress.
With BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik announcing that winability will be the factor for distribution of tickets, incumbent MLA Priyadarshi Mishra has an edge over other aspirants from the ruling party, sources said.
The MLA’s performance in carrying out development works in the constituency along with his people-friendly and accessible approach hold him in good stead.
Priyadarshi had been elected from the seat in 2014 elections defeating Dillip Mohanty of BJP by a massive margin of nearly 49,000 votes. The Congress had been pushed to the margins with its candidate Manoranjan Dash managing to secure only around 8,223 votes.
Though former Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena was angling for an MLA ticket, his appointment as Chairman of Bhubaneswar Development Authority has put an end to his being in race for a party nomination from any of Bhubaneswar seats.
With no credible alternative available, Priyadarshi remains a strong contender for renomination from the ruling party for the Bhubaneswar-North segment.
Not just the ruling party, things are also identical for BJP and Congress. According to sources, Dillip Mohanty and party spokesperson Golak Mohapatra are in the race for the BJP ticket.
Likewise, National Students Union of India (NSUI) leader Itish Pradhan is lobbying hard for a ticket from Congress and is facing a stiff competition from party leader Abhilash Mania.
Amid frantic lobby, none of these major parties have finalised their candidates for this constituency yet. Nomination filing for this seat is scheduled to begin on March 28. Bhubaneswar-North will go to polls in the third phase on April 23.