JAGATSINGHPUR: Four Assembly seats in Jagatsinghpur district have first timers all of whom are looking forward to bring positive changes to their respective constituencies.
BJP’s Amrendra Das who won the Jagatsinghpur Assembly seat, defeating BJD’s Prasant Muduli told The New Indian Express he may have been elected to the Assembly for the first but his experience as the chairman of the Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation Ltd (OSCDC) would prove beneficial.
Even after 78 years of Independence, residents of Jagatsinghpur and Naugaon blocks are deprived of basic facilities like housing, toilets, drinking water, ration cards, roads, and electricity, he said.
Das plans to form a team with the help of BDOs to identify and support eligible beneficiaries of welfare schemes by visiting each panchayat in his constituency. He emphasised it is crucial to fight corruption at the grassroots and ensure proper implementation of government programmes for the benefit of the poor.
Another BJP first-time Sampad Swain had contested in 2019 and lost. This time he emerged victorious by defeating BJD’s Geetanjali Routray. Swain said Paradip has traditionally been a stronghold of BJD, with former minister late Damodar Rout dominating the seat. The defeat of Sambit Routray signifies people’s mandate against family politics and corruption. Swain pledged to fight corruption and develop Paradip port, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a ‘double engine’ government at both state and Centre.
BJD whose reign ended in the state too managed to win two seats in the district. In Tirtol, BJD’s Ramakant Bhoi won by defeating BJP’s Rajkishore Behera by a margin of 28,495 votes. Like Sampad, Bhoi had contested in 2014 and 2019 but failed. He plans to transform the dilapidated Sarala Weavers Cooperative Spinning Mill into a business hub to generate employment for local youth. Additionally, he aims to construct a water reservoir on the Hansua river and renovate its drainage system to prevent flooding, which affects 40 out of 61 panchayats every monsoon.
Similarly, Balikuda-Erasama’s newly elected BJD MLA Sarada Jena defeated BJP’s Satyasarthi Mohanty by a margin of 25,959 votes. Jena had contested as an Independent candidate in 2014 but was defeated. He acknowledged the challenge of serving as an MLA for the next five years, given that his party is not in power. Nonetheless, he committed to providing basic facilities for people of Balikuda and Erasama.