ROURKELA: The Sundargarh BJP has gone all guns blazing to ensure victory of its candidates in the first phase Zilla Parishad (ZP) election scheduled on February 16. BJP’s Sundargarh MP Jual Oram and three other MLAs are putting all their might in campaigning in nine ZP seats going to polls in the first phase. The party hopes to form the 35-member ZP council in Sundargarh on its own after narrowly missing the chance in 2017.
Jual, also the chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and a former Union Minister, along with BJP State president Sameer Mohanty campaigned for party candidates in parts of Sundargarh and Talsara Assembly constituencies on Thursday. On Friday, Jual was busy electioneering in Rajgangpur.
The former Union Minister said over the last three days, he has covered eight ZP seats and claimed that the BJP has a fair chance of forming the ZP council on its own. “The BJP is highlighting the good work of Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and simultaneously educating voters about the misdeeds of the ruling BJD. The BJD government is misusing Central funds and depriving rural masses of the benefits of schemes launched by the Centre. The voters are at the receiving end of the BJD government’s rampant corruption,” Jual alleged.
Springing a surprise in 2017 polls, the BJP had won 13 ZP seats but fell short of simple majority by five seats. The BJD with 14 seats had formed the ZP council with help of five seats of Congress and one seat each of CPI, CPM and Independent on the common agenda of opposing BJP. Sources said in most of the ZP seats, the BJD and BJP will have a direct contest. In 10 seats, there will be triangular fight involving the Congress.
BJP insiders said as part of a strategy of the party, Sundargarh, Talsara and Bisra MLAs Kusum Tete, Bhawani Shankar Bhoi and Shankar Oram respectively are campaigning with a focus to improve BJP’s performance in these Assembly constituencies which have 20 ZP seats. In the last polls, the saffron party had managed to win most of the seats in these constituencies despite the absence of BJP MLAs. In the first phase, nine ZP seats in Bargaon, Kuanrmunda, Lathikata and Bonai blocks are going to polls.