BHUBANESWAR: With elections a few months away, speculations are rife over the second Assembly seat from where Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will contest.There are talks in political circles that the chief minister may contest from Puri after senior servitor Ramkrushna Das Mohapatra stated on Thursday that people cutting across party lines will support him. Setting the deadline for the Srimandir project in December, 2023 has also added to the chatter.
Sources in BJD, however, maintained several other seats particularly in western Odisha like Sambalpur and Bargarh are under consideration of the party leadership. The chief minister may contest from Sambalpur Assembly seat as it will have a positive impact on other constituencies as well, a senior party leader told The New Indian Express.
The chief minister contesting from Sambalpur Assembly seat will mainly serve two purposes. Both the Sambalpur Lok Sabha and Assembly seats are with BJP. While leader of Opposition Jaynarayan Mishra represents the Assembly and will most certainly be retained as the candidate, there are high chances that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will fight from the Lok Sabha seat. In case, the chief minister contests from Sambalpur, it will help BJD wrest the seats from BJP and this will have an impact in the poll outcome in other nearby seats, the senior leader said.
On Naveen contesting from Puri, senior BJD leader and former finance minister Sashi Bhusan Behera Naveen is capable of winning elections from anywhere in the state. People of the state adore the chief minister. The steps taken by the chief minister for development of the state and welfare of people are acknowledged and recognised by all, he said, adding his popularity has increased over the years because of the outstanding performance of the government.
He can contest from any seat in the state and the decision in this regard will be taken by him, he added.The chief minister had contested from Hinjili and Bijepur seats in the 2019 Assembly election. He had later resigned from Bijepur.