ROURKELA: Congress leaders and workers of Bonai Assembly are both upset and confused amid the growing speculation over the grand old party sacrificing the seat again for alliance partner CPM.
As seat sharing negotiations are underway between the central leadership of Congress and CPM, it is believed that the communist party’s sitting MLA Laxman Munda would be most likely repeated in Bonai as the alliance candidate for 2024 polls.
Sources said the local sentiment is against any alliance with the CPM with a section of angry Congressmen dropping hint to put up a rebel candidate. The Congressmen believe that the alliance with CPM in 2004 and 2019 elections weakened the grand old party’s organisation in Bonai.
Party insiders said the last Congress MLA from Bonai was Janardan Dehuri who is now the president of Sundargarh district Congress committee. Dehuri had won the by-poll in 1997. Due to alliance in 2004 election, CPM’s Munda won for the first time with Congress support and it was the party’s stepping stone to debacle.
In 2009 election, Congress candidate Ranjit Kisan secured around 25,000 votes and was placed third while CPM’s Munda grabbed the second position with about 27,000 votes. In 2014, Congress candidate Bhimsen Chaudhary and BJD’s Dayanidhi Kisan secured 37,181 votes and 37,307 votes respectively as CPM’s Munda won with a slender lead of 1,818 votes.
It was believed that Congress lost the election as Dehuri contested as an Independent candidate and secured around 6,000 votes.
Congress coordinator BK Das said the party’s rank and file feel the CPM benefitted from Congress without reciprocation. In 2019, CPM MLA Munda with support of Congress got around 60,000 votes. But the Congress candidate for Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat got barely 35,000 votes from Bonai Assembly constituency. He said if Munda gets nominated as an alliance candidate, he would be asked to give written assurance to sincerely support the LS nominee of Congress.
Congress president of Sundargarh unit Dehuri said the popular mood in the party is to go it alone in the polls. However, they would have to abide by the decision of the top Congress leadership.
Congress leaders Baji Kisan, Koida sarpanch Hrushikesh Dehuri, Gurundia samiti member Dasarath Oram and two others have applied for Congress ticket to fight the election from Bonai. Supporters of the first three ticket aspirants claimed if denied ticket by the party, their leaders may turn rebels.