BHUBANESWAR: Simmering discontent over the selection of candidates for several Assembly seats in the coastal districts against the wish of the party workers is likely to explode with possible desertion of ticket aspirants along with their supporters.
The nomination of former Nimapara MLA Baidhar Mallick from Kakatpur Assembly seat and the renomination of Pravati Parida from the Nimapara constituency in Puri district have not gone down well with party cadres in the two constituencies. Dilip Nayak, who had joined the party from Congress and was a strong contender for the Nimapara seat, quit immediately after Parida’s candidature and secured the ticket from BJD. Parida will have a tough time as she will now face Nayak as her main rival. The BJD denied a ticket to sitting MLA and former minister Samir Ranjan Dash as he has been embroiled in several controversies.
Another former Congress leader Biswabhusan Das who was inducted into the BJP with an assurance of a party ticket for Kakatpur also seems to be left with no other option. Das contested the 2009 and 2019 elections from Kakatpur on a Congress ticket and had given a good fight to the BJD candidate. The BJP had given the party ticket to sitting BJD MLA and Minister Tusharkanti Behera in 2014, but he came third. Despite again getting the BJP ticket in 2019, Behera ditched the saffron party at the last moment to fight as BJD candidate from the seat. Former BJD MLA Rabi Mallick switched to the BJP but was relegated to the third position while as a Congress candidate Das secured the second position.
“With no potential candidate in the constituency, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took the initiative to induct Das into BJP. Das joined the saffron party with the condition that he would be made the party nominee from Kakatpur. The sudden announcement of Baidhar Mallick came as a surprise to many in the party as BJD is yet to name its candidate,” said a BJP insider.
Aspirants for the Ranpur seat and their supporters are also planning to quit after the renomination of Surama Padhy by replacing district unit president Tapas Ranjan Martha.