ROURKELA: With BJD candidate Jogesh Singh and sitting legislator of BJP Kusum Tete eyeing the Sundargarh Assembly seat, the tribal constituency is set to witness a tough fight between two traditional arch rivals this election.
Though both the leaders have separate agendas for the polls, their common goal lies in improving the quality of life of rural populace and ecology by using funds from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF).
Before the 2019 election, Jogesh, the then sitting MLA of Congress, switched sides to join the BJD. Similarly, after being denied ticket from the ruling party, Kusum embraced the BJP.
Even as the upcoming polls are just round the corner, both the candidates have geared up to win the voters’ confidence. Jogesh, a two-time Sundargarh MLA said he has been focusing on highlighting development and welfare programmes undertaken by the Naveen Patnaik government and promises of the BJD to the people.
As Sundargarh is a mining-affected region, Jogesh said he plans to utilise DMF funds to benefit the people and support the environment. “If elected to power, I would ensure street light arrangement for all villages,” he said pointing at the inconvenience faced by local residents after sundown.
He said street lighting would further reduce incidents of elephants entering into villages, and snake bite. “I also plan to renovate dried up community water bodies across the constituency as it would solve the water scarcity issue as well as improve the level of groundwater,” he said. The BJD candidate stressed he would also ensure easy drinking water access to those households that are not covered under the mega drinking water project.
Similarly, BJP MLA Tete said her proposed DMF projects worth over Rs 100 crore have benefitted villagers across the constituency. Pointing at lack of proper communication in interior pockets due to non-motorable roads, Tete said if elected to power she would use DMF and other funds to remove all geographical barriers and lay roads in areas not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
The BJP MLA further informed she plans to set up large community centres from MLALAD, DMF or CSR funds to allow holding of large community services and expand the street lighting programme.
“If re-elected, I would ensure drinking water availability to all and also set up small lift irrigation points or check-dams using DMF fund to support agriculture and the environment,” she asserted.
The scheduled tribe (ST) constituency comprises the Sadar, Tangarpali, coal-rich Hemgir blocks and seven gram panchayats of Lephripara and the Sundargarh Municipality. It has about 2.34 lakh voters with vote casting pattern of 75 per cent. The Sundargarh MLA has been an ex-officio member of the DMF.