BHUBANESWAR: Kandhamal is perhaps the only Lok Sabha seat in Odisha which the ruling BJD can consider its unbreachable fortress. The ruling party has won the seat in all the three elections since the constituency was created after the delimitation exercise in 2008.
The first MP from the seat was Rudra Madhab Ray in 2009 and the constituency has stayed steadfast in its backing for the BJD despite the inroads made by the RSS organisations and VHP in the communally sensitive region, which was the ground of Odisha’s worst ever riots in 2008.
The BJD has renominated sitting MP Achyutananda Samanta from the seat. A leading edu-entrepreneur and social activist, Samanta, who has earned great renown for providing free education to underprivileged and tribal children through his network of educational institutions such as KIIT, KISS, and KIMS medical college and hospital, had defeated BJP candidate and three-time MP from Balasore Kharabela Swain by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes in 2019.
The BJP has fielded party old-hand Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi after Swain declined to contest from the seat this time. Panigrahi had first fought the 2014 election against Hemendra Chandra Singh of the BJD. The Congress had also fielded a strong candidate in former minister Harihar Karan from the seat, who came second after Singh in the election.
In 2019, the Congress was relegated to the third position and the main fight was between Samanta and Swain. This time too, the fight is expected to be between Samanta and Panigrahi and the BJD’s strong organisational base against the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Samanta seems to enjoy an undeniable upper-hand in the upcoming polls, but the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to take the fight to him. Along with Panigrahi’s grassroots connect, the saffron party is keen to swing the positive sentiments of the electorate on the development works done by the BJP government at the Centre, particularly the image of Modi, and convert them into votes in its favour. Besides, it has also activated the RSS and its affiliate organisations like the VHP which has cemented a strong base among the Hindu castes and tribals in the region.
On the other hand, the Congress has fielded a new face from the seat in Amir Chand Nayak. But the Congress influence and presence in the seat has declined considerably. It is very doubtful whether the Congress can stand up to the BJD and BJP, or it will be relegated to also ran status.
