BHUBANESWAR: Dynastic politics might have been shown the door elsewhere in the country, but it is truly alive and worked wonders for the ruling BJD in the Assembly election in Odisha.While the Modi wave virtually wiped out dynastic politics in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana for Congress and its allies, at least 18 leaders of BJD bucked the trend and were victorious. For them, the family firms are well alive in the State.
At least 31 leaders, who came from different political families, were in the fray from three major political parties, BJD, Congress and BJP.Leading from the front, the BJD had fielded 22 such candidates, including six women for both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. The man of the moment Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who stonewalled Modi magic, too falls in the category as he had succeeded his father former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. He contested from two seats this election and won handsomely.
Major names included Pranab Prakash Das, Pratap Deb, Chandra Sarathi Behera, Sambit Rouray, Bishnubrata Routray, Pranab Balabantaray, Priti Ranjan Ghadei, Debesh Acharya, Kalikesh Singh Deo, Arkesh Narayan Singh Deo and former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal’s daughter Sunita Biswal.
BJD had also fielded more political family members such as Debi Ranjan Tripathy, Souvic Biswal, Sanjib Mallick, Manjulata Mandal, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahy, Manjula Swain, Kausalya Hikaka and Chandrani Murmu besides Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, son-in-law of former CM JB Patnaik.
All won from their respective constituencies except Kalikesh, Sunita and Kausalya, who were BJD’s Lok Sabhah candidates from Balangir, Sundargarh and Koraput respectively. Kalikesh’s brother Arkesh Narayan bit the dust from Balangir assembly segment.
The opposition, however, faced the downside. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik, who contested from two assembly segments - Ghasipura and Bhandaripokhari lost the polls and his son Navajyoti Patnaik was pushed to the third position in Balasore Lok Sabha seat. Hemananda’s daughter Anita, who contested from Sundergarh assembly seat on Congress ticket lost. Senior Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das and his son Sagar Das were defeated in Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat and Bhawanipatna assembly segment respectively.
Trade union leader Gorege Tirkey, who had joined the Congress after quitting Samata Kranti Dal and contested from Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat was relegated to third position. His son Rohit Joseph Tirkey also lost in Biramitrapur assembly segment.
While Narasingha Mishra won from Balangir Assembly segment for the second consecutive term, his son Samarendra failed to sail through in the Lok Sabha constituency. Former PCC president Prasad Harichandan, son-in-law of Congress veteran Suresh Kumar Routray, also lost the election from Satyabadi Assembly seat.
Similarly, former BJD MP Arjun Sethi’s son Abhimanyu and former Minister Biswabhusan Harichandan’s son Prithviraj Harichandan, who contested on BJP tickets from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat and Chilika Assembly segment respectively, also faced defeat. The only solace was late Congress leader Ramachandra Ulaka’s son Saptagiri, who won from Koraput LS seat with a slender margin.