BHUBANESWAR : Sundargarh is the only LS constituency in Odisha from where the BJD has never won an election. When the BJD and BJP were in alliance, Sundargarh remained with the BJP and has been represented by Jual Oram. Even after the alliance between the two parties broke, the constituency changed hands only once in 2009 when former chief minister and Congress veteran Hemananda Biswal won from the seat. Oram made a comeback again in 2014 and continues to be the sitting MP from the seat. The BJP veteran has again been fielded from the seat and is waiting for a hat-trick of victories in 2024 election. Oram has won the seat for a record number of five times since 1998.
Sundargarh has turned into a high profile seat as Oram is pitted against Hockey India president and former captain of the Indian hockey team Dilip Tirkey from the seat. A legend in those parts of the state, it will be Tirkey’s second attempt to unseat BJP veteran Oram. But Tirkey faces an uphill task as the support base of Oram has increased with every election. Even in 2009, when he had lost to Hemananda Biswal, there was a difference of only a little over one per cent votes (11,624) between the two. The 2009 election had witnessed a four-cornered contest between BJP, Congress, JMM and CPM, and the Congress had taken advantage of division of votes.
But the situation has changed a lot since then. With BJP witnessing a countrywide upsurge because of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, political observers are of the view that this tribal-dominated constituency will remain with the saffron party.
BJD sources, however, maintained that the party will snatch the seat this time. Tirkey had lost by a margin of around 18,000 votes to Oram in 2014 election. As the ruling BJD had started preparations for election nearly a year back, the party will manage the deficit in this election. Besides, Tirkey’s popularity in the area and the establishment of a world class hockey stadium in the district which is considered to be the cradle of the game in the country will work in the ruling party’s favour, they said.
The BJD had fielded Hemananda’s daughter Sunita Biswal from the seat in 2019 election. But she was defeated by Oram by a record margin of 2.23 lakh votes. Congress has changed its candidate and fielded Janardan Dehury, a former MLA of Bonai and president of the Sundargarh district Congress committee. But the depletion of party organisation has been to such an extent that it will not be able to make a mark, observers said.