BERHAMPUR: Alleging horse-trading of sarpanch and panchayat samiti (PS) posts in Rangeilunda block, the Ganjam BJP unit has urged the State Election Commissioner (SEC) for a probe into what the party said a deal of Rs 10 lakh.
As per claims of the party, kin of the sarpanch and PS candidates in Chandapur panchayat paid Rs 10 lakh cheque to the villagers for their uncontested victory.
BJP district unit president Bibhuti Jena said the party’s Zilla Parishad candidate from zone 53, Kajal Patra, had written to the SEC on February 16 regarding the auctioning of posts.
On January 20, a meeting was held at Sunadei village under Chandapur panchayat where C Bairi Patra and Balya Ram Dalai made an agreement with the villagers for the unopposed election of Rashmita Patra as sarpanch and Priyanka Dalai as PS members. Rashmita is Baird's daughter-in-law while Priyanka is the wife of Balya Ram, it said.
The agreement was signed by both parties on the condition that Rs 10 lakh will be paid to the villagers as a guarantee for the construction of roads to Sunadei and Chandapur. The duo said the cheque will be used for road construction if the two candidates after the election fail to get government allocation for the purpose.
“We have sent our petition to the SEC with evidence and relevant documents with a copy marked to the Ganjam Collector and appealed that the election to the two posts be declared null and void besides seeking an impartial inquiry,” Jena told The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
The action was also sought against one Gram Rozgar Sevak(GRS) C Subash Patra who reportedly signed the agreement as a witness. “While our ZP candidate reported the issue many days back, no action has yet been taken,” he said, adding that the BJD is using government machinery for personal gain.
Contacted, Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said an inquiry will be conducted basing on the ZP candidate’s allegations.