SAMBALPUR: The political scene in Sambalpur is abuzz with murmurs of internal strife as both BJD and BJP grapple with infighting and discontent ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The picturesque Sambalpur Urban constituency, comprising Sambalpur city, Hirakud and Burla town, has become the battleground for fierce political maneuvering.
The BJD which has not been able to secure any of the seats in Sambalpur in the past other than in 2014, finds itself embroiled in a bitter dispute among its leaders. During the LS candidate Pranab Prakash Das’ recent visit to former MLA Raseswari Panigrahi’s house, tension flared when Panigrahi’s supporters demanded her candidacy for the assembly seat. In presence of BJD district president and Rairakhol MLA Rohit Pujari, who was being projected by the party to contest from the same seat, Panigrahy’s supporters cautioned they will not extend support to any other candidate fielded by the party.
The open resistance to his possible candidature has made Pujari reconsider his decision and shift focus towards Rairakhol yet again and he has also been lobbying for the same, said party sources.
Similarly, Siddhartha Das, general secretary of BJD, has also thrown his hat into the ring, further complicating party’s internal dynamics. Das has reportedly conveyed his displeasure against Pujari’s candidature in Sambalpur.
Besides, there more aspirants from the party who are willing to be fielded as the candidate for Sambalpur. Strangely, every major leader in the party is working closely with their group of supporters only. Under such circumstances, Das as well as the Assembly seat candidate will find it tough garnering support of the party workers.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday retained Jayanarayan Mishra as its candidate for Sambalpur much against the wishes of district BJP president Girish Patel. Patel’s resistance to Mishra’s candidature was reflected during the recent meeting with party observers when the supporters of Mishra and Patel indulged in blame game.
The Congress, meanwhile has not named any candidate yet though Durga Padhi is among the prominent aspirants for the assembly seat.
In 2019, Congress lost the race and stood third while the fight was between BJP and BJD. While Jayanarayan who got 57,349 votes beat BJD’s Raseswari Panigrahi who secured 52, 969 votes. Congress came third with its candidate Dr. Aswini Pujari securing 11,652 votes.
