VYASANAGAR: A purported tussle between two very powerful families in the BJD seems to have not only led to a delay in finalising candidate but also queered the pitch for the ruling party in its bastion - the Korei Assembly constituency.
Once the fiefdom of Janata Dal stalwart and Biju Patnaik’s close associate late Ashok Das, who represented the seat five times, Korei has been under the control of his son and BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das after his demise in 2008. Pranab’s writ runs large in the constituency despite he himself representing the Jajpur seat in the Assembly. He has been central to candidate selection and decision-making in the seat since the last one decade.
However, Korei this time finds itself in the crosshairs with another influential political family - that of BJD veteran Prafulla Ghadei - eyeing the seat. Ghadei’s son and Rural Development Minister Pritiranjan now represents his fort, the neighbouring Sukinda Assembly segment and has been renominated by the BJD from the seat. But, the family too seems to be pressing for the Korei seat for Pritiranjan’s wife and actor Jhilik Bhattacharjee, pitting themselves directly against Pranab.
According to political circles here, with former BJD MLA and popular Odia cine star Akash Das Nayak switching side to the BJP and sitting MLA Ashok Bal falling behind in the ticket race, the contest for candidature has boiled down straight to the Pranab and Ghadei camps. Pritiranjan had contested and won from Korei in 2009 and has his own network in the constituency. The Ghadeis thus are keen to secure the seat for Jhilik while the Pranab camp seems to be pushing for his brother Bhaba Prasad Das, sources said.
A BJD section is also actively pursuing with the leadership to field Pranab himself from the seat notwithstanding his candidature from the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat against Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “The possibility of Pranab aka Bobby himself being fielded from Korei Assembly segment cannot be ruled out. Sambalpur is a very tough and high-stake fight for him politically. If he loses there, getting into the Assembly will neutralise the impact on his standing in the BJD,” said a political observer.
On the other hand, local party leaders and workers concede that the prevailing situation is already giving shape to intense factionalism. A section has warned against giving ticket to anyone from both the families and urged the leadership to put up a new face. There are speculations of OPCC vice-president and former Vyasanagar Municipality chairperson Bandita Parida joining the BJD and getting the ticket. Bandita had contested from the seat on a Congress ticket in 2019. Another former municipality chairman and BJD leader Rasananda Mohanty is also in the race while the name of BJP candidate in 2019 elections Biswajeet Nayak switching over to BJD too is making rounds.
Meanwhile, with both the BJD and Congress still undecided over their candidates, Akash, who won the seat in 2014, has already made a headstart in campaigning by mobilising the BJP and RSS cadres and bringing the organisation together for the big fight ahead. Soft-spoken and amiable, Akash has remained connected with his constituency despite not being nominated by BJD in 2019 and has acceptance across voter sections.
The Korei segment goes to polls in the last phase on June 1. There is time but all eyes are on the BJD to end the suspense and prime its organisation for the fight.