27 BJD rebels enter BeMC poll fray as Independents

Political observers feel, the party has already been grappling with the rift between members in the city and now with more dissidents in the fray, the going is likely to get tougher.
Berhampur Municipal Corporation office
Berhampur Municipal Corporation office

BERHAMPUR: BJD’s performance in rural polls notwithstanding, the going for the party is likely to be tougher in urban polls as many members have filed nominations to contest as Independents after being denied tickets for Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC).

For the mayor post, the party has fielded Sanghamitra Dalei. While no objection to her candidature has yet been raised, support to her is questionable due to resentment within the party over candidate selection. As per reports, 27 BJD members will be contesting as Independents for the ward corporator posts.

Sources said, over 300 BJD aspirants had applied to contest for 42 wards of the BeMC, including 21 for the Mayor post. The applicants included former corporators and others who worked in their respective wards keeping an eye on the elections. Local BJD leaders however sent the list to the party headquarters for the final selection reportedly to shift responsibility.

Though the list reached the BJD Ganjam unit on March 6, party cadres neither issued party tickets to any candidate nor declared the names till the last day of nomination filing on Monday. This is believed to have not augured well for aspirants whose names were not selected. Discontented, they have decided to contest as Independents.

Political observers feel, the party has already been grappling with rift between members in the city and now with more dissidents in the fray, the going is likely to get tougher. Besides, many delayed development projects under the BeMC could emerge as a poll concern for the BJD.

The corporation is being managed by an administrator, since the term of the council ended in 2018. In the last four years, large amount of funds were spent on beautification projects for Berhampur, but none of them has been completed. All this, experts say, could work against the ruling party.

Not only in BeMC, BJD is reportedly facing dissidence in all the 16 NACs in the district besides Hinjili municipality. In Ganjam, Purusottampur and Gopalpur NACs, rebel candidates of BJD have already entered the poll fray. Sources said the tussle is not just for the chairperson posts but also for councillor posts in the NACs.

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