CUTTACK: Even as the BJD made a clean sweep by winning 45 seats of the total 46 ZP zones in 14 blocks of Cuttack district, the party is facing difficulty in forming panchayat samitis in some blocks with a number of dissident candidates winning the seats.
The ruling party is expected to manage the dissidents and somehow retain 12 of the 14 panchayat samitis. However, two samitis in Kantapada and Niali blocks may go out of its hand with Opposition BJP and Congress claiming to have made major gains in the panchayat samiti member elections.
Though the panchayat samiti member candidates were fighting on free symbols allotted by the State Election Commission (SEC), the three major political parties - BJD, BJP and Congress - had backed them during the contest.
The BJP is claiming to have made major gains in Kantapada block panchayat elections as the candidates it backed have won in 8 of the total 14 gram panchayats, Congress on the other hand, is making hectic efforts to retain the panchayat samiti of Niali block. Only 10 of the 23 panchayat samiti candidates the Congress backed won the elections. While the post of Kantapada block chairman is reserved for SC(woman), the post in Niali has been reserved for the general category.
Aditya Pani, husband of sitting Niali block chairperson Kalpana Pani was projected as the chairman candidate by BJD. However, after his defeat, the name of the Sampad Mohanty who won in Bilasuni gram panchayat is being projected for the post.
Political observers are expecting horse-trading by ruling BJD with the sitting Niali legislator Pramod Mallick chalking out strategies to retain the two panchayat samitis by hook or crook.