BARGARH: Hours after BJP’s district unit vice-president and party ticket aspirant for Bhatli Assembly seat Sushant Mishra joined the BJD, his wife Parineeta Mishra was declared the ruling party’s candidate for Bargarh Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday.
It was a swift operation by the ruling party which not only poached the BJP leader with stronghold in a Bargarh segment but also rewarded him with nomination of his wife. By playing the woman card in the key Lok Sabha constituency, the BJD has shot two birds with one stone.
Mishra was an aspirant for BJP ticket from Bhatli seat. However, the saffron party nominated its state secretary Irasis Acharya as the candidate for the Assembly seat which left him slighted.
Starting his political career with Congress, Mishra went on to be a close confidant of veteran leader Prakash Debata from Sohela and played his representative on several occasions during the latter’s tenure as MLA as well as minister. While he was being seen as the political successor of Debata, he left Congress following a rift within the party and unsuccessfully contested as an Independent candidate from Sohela in 2014 and later joined BJP.
While BJD candidate Sushanta Singh had won with 75,077 votes, Mishra came second by polling 37,496 votes. BJP’s Sauri Charan Barik secured 29,316 votes while Prakash Debata of Congress managed 10,506 votes.
Following his defeat, Mishra joined BJP and remained an active member in Bhatli and nearby constituencies. Sources said, he was dejected after BJP denied him the ticket. However, BJD was quick to approach him with an offer for his wife to contest the election as its Bargarh Lok Sabha candidate.
Sushant submitted his resignation to state BJP president Manmohan Samal. In the letter, Sushant said, “Though I was working dedicatedly for BJP since the last many years, the party did not recognise my efforts and neglected me. Therefore, I am resigning from the post of Bargarh district BJP vice-president and primary membership of the party.”
Meanwhile, Parineeta’s candidature has evoked mixed reactions in Bargarh. She will be locking horns with BJP candidate Pradeep Purohit and Sanjay Bhoi of Congress for the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat.