A management degree holder from UK, Samarendra Mishra has been associated with many enterprises. Son of Congress veteran Narasingha Mishra, he is fighting his first electoral battle. The Congress candidate from Balangir Lok Sabha seat shares his vision with Bijoy Pradhan.
Q. You are a novice in politics while your opponents have won elections several times. How are you projecting yourself?
I am in active politics for the last seven years. I have successfully managed last three elections. My success rate is 2:1 - two wins, one loss. As a candidate, I think it is less of a job than managing the elections. Sometimes I feel I am jobless. Because I merely do a ‘namaskar’ and seek vote. Managing an election is a different game altogether and it helps to gain experience.
. What is your USP? Why do you think people will vote for you?
People have already tested two other contenders - the BJP and BJD. BJP has won thrice and BJD won twice. We all know how have they performed and how far they have been able to take up the local issues in the Parliament. The two do not belong to the place. They may be from a royal family, but it does not mean that they belong to the place. They have come for votes. I can say Balangir is my home, they can not say that. They can not live here, because they know the place lacks basic amenities. They are the ones who are responsible for it.
Q. What is your take on dynasty politics?
It is not just Balangir, it is everywhere and across parties. It is also there in other countries too. One can not take away my right to contest elections. The point is whether my father has promoted me there. No, I am not a parachute candidate. I have slogged and risen through the ranks. I have helped the party grow in my constituency.
Q. What will be your area of priority to start with if are elected?
Major problems in the constituency are unemployment and distress migration. We are rather infamous in the country because we are exporting people to work. We need to address that. For employment generation we need private investments instead of relying on Government aids. The economy here runs only with Government money. What we need to do is we must influence policy makers to come up with special packages so that new industries can come up here. We need infrastructure development and private investments which will create jobs. On the other hand, we have agrarian economy and it need to be properly addressed. All pending irrigation projects need to be completed.