KORAPUT: A consensus candidate of BJD, BJP and Congress from Kotia panchayat filed nomination for Zilla Parishad (ZP) member post from zone 1 of Pottangi block on Friday. Mamata Jani, a graduate of Thuria village in the panchayat, filed her papers at the Sub-Collector's office here. The tribal woman was unanimously selected by all the three parties which supported her candidature.
On Thursday, leaders of BJD, BJP and Congress had decided to select consensus candidates for the posts of ZP, sarpanch, samiti and ward members instead of going to the polls in Kotia to show unanimity among political parties of the State in face of infringement attempts of Andhra Pradesh in the disputed panchayat.
The all-party meeting also decided that all candidates for the posts will be selected from Kotia panchayat. The selected candidates will have no political affiliation. Accordingly, Mamata does not have links with any party nor is she a relative of any political leaders of Koraput.
All-party committee convenor and president of district unit of BJD Iswar Chandra Panigrahi said the agenda behind selecting Mamata is to protect the disputed areas of Kotia from frequent infiltration attempts of Andhra Pradesh.
After filing her nomination, Mamata said she will abide by the decision of the all-party committee to ensure development of Kotia. Besides, she will not exercise her voting right in case of a tie while forming the ZP council.