JAGATSINGHPUR: Amidst the protest against the steel plant project, the zilla parishad (ZP) zone-4 of Ersama block has gone to Congress. ZP candidate of Congress from zone-4 Pinaki Narayan Das defeated ruling BJD’s Tamil Pradhan by a margin of 2,110 votes. The block comprises Dhinkia, Nuagaon, Gadakujang, Balitutha, Bamdeipur, Chattua and Baleipur panchayats. Dhinkia has remained the epicentre of protest against JSW Steel’s greenfield project.
Sources said Pinaki received unanticipated support from voters of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang panchayats. Similarly, Congress-backed sarpanch candidate Suchitra Mantri in Nuagaon has defeated her BJD’s Saubhagyani Kanungo by 259 votes. The party’s panchayat samiti (PS) member candidate Sasmita Pasayat has also won from the panchayat.
In Dhinkia, the PS member candidate backed by both Congress and Jindal Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (JPSS), which is spearheading the anti-JSW movement, has emerged victorious in the election. Mitanjali Bhoi defeated BJD-supported candidate Amita Das by 642 votes.
Outgoing sarpanch of Nuagaon Bidyadhar Mallick said BJD candidates lost the election due to the discontentment among villagers over the proposed steel project. However, unlike in Dhinkia and Nuagaon, the sarpanch and PS member candidates fielded by Congress in Gadakujang panchayat have been defeated by the BJD nominees.