PARADIP: The fight for the Paradip Assembly constituency is not only among the candidates but also their spouses. Prominent contestants’ spouses have embraced the rigours of campaigning and are all out to woo the voters in the segment. BJP’s campaigning took off last week with former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh blowing the poll bugle here.
Though campaigning by BJD and Congress had initially been sluggish owing to intra-party conflicts, defection and misunderstanding among workers, it has gained pace in the last few days. Congress MLA candidate for Paradip Assembly segment Bapi Sarkhel kick-started his campaign after offering prayers at Lokanath temple here on Saturday. Sarkhel has started door-to-door campaigning along with his wife Moni Deepa. He along with Congress candidate for Jagatsinghpur Parliamentary constituency Pratima Mallick have started interacting with voters in the rural areas.
Moni Deepa is actively involved in the campaign trail and was seen interacting with women groups in villages. Sarkhel released the Congress manifesto and committed to provide permanent jobs to displaced families and land losers if the party is voted to power. He also assured irrigation facility, setting up of food processing plant, construction of cold storages, establishment of Government ITI and nursing college in Paradip and others. BJD candidate Sambit Routray’s wife Geetanjali too has joined the campaign trail and was seen conducting doorto- door visits to ward no 1 and 8 of Paradip Municipality to vote in favour of her husband. Similarly, BJP MLA candidate Sampad Swain’s wife Sushrita accompanied by the members of BJP Mahila Morcha, has intensified campaigning in the constituency.