JAJPUR: The 50 per cent reservation for women in the panchayat elections seems to have served its purpose in Jajpur district as is evident from the number of ladies in the fray for the zilla parishad seats.
While 75 male candidates will fight it out for 20 Zilla Parishad seats, 80 women are in the race for 19 seats across the district. As many as 155 aspirants had filed their nominations for 39 zilla parishad seats in the district and all were declared valid after scrutiny on Saturday.
“Not a single nomination for the zilla parishad seats for the upcoming panchayat polls in Jajpur was rejected”, said an official. While 51.61 per cent of women are in the race for the zilla parishad seats, 48.38 per cent of males are trying their luck for the polls.
As many as 25 zilla parishad seats in the district are set to witness a triangular contest among the BJD, Congress, and BJP while there will be a quadrilateral contest in the remaining seats.
For the first time in the rural polls in Jajpur district, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has fielded six candidates for the zilla parishad seats. The JMM has fielded its candidates in zilla parishad zone nos 8, 9, and 10 of Danagadi, 37 and 39 of Sukinda, and 16 of Barachana block.
As per the State Election Commission, the last date for withdrawal of nominations is January 25. The panchayat polls in the district will be held in five phases on February 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 from 7 am to 1 pm.