BHUBANESWAR: The decision of Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik to contest from the Kantabanji Assembly constituency in Balangir district alongside his traditional Hinjili seat seems to be aimed at hitting and neutralising many roadblocks for the regional party in one go.
There are multiple pain points for the party in western Odisha districts this time - right from the surge of the BJP in the region riding on the Modi factor to a sense of anti-incumbency coumpounded by rampant factionalism within the BJD ranks. Besides, the seat is strategically located so much so that the chief minister’s candidature from there would have impact on not only Balangir but also the politically crucial Bargarh and Kalahandi districts.
The immediate fallout of such a move by the chief minister will be on the Kantabanji Assembly constituency and the Balangir Lok Sabha seat where the ruling BJD is facing the toughest challenge from the Opposition BJP and Congress. In the 2019 Assembly election, the BJD had won four seats while Congress had won two and BJP one.
However, sources in the BJD maintained that the situation has undergone a sea change since the 2019 elections with BJP significantly strengthening its position in the region. There is a perceptible Modi wave in the district and neighbouring areas which will impact voters’ choice both in the Lok Sabha and Assembly segments. Balangir had last time elected BJP’s Sangeeta Singh Deo, but had gone with the regional party in the majority of its Assembly segments. Party insiders fear that this time, the separate voting trend may not happen due to the anti-incumbency factor against the ruling party. With the tallest BJD leader Naveen Patnaik joining the fray, such a situation can be pre-empted as the chief minister continues to be the most popular leader there too.
His presence will also rein in the different factions that are threatening to pull in different directions. Sources said that Water Resources Minister Tukuni Sahu and the members of the Singh Deo family in the BJD do not see eye to eye and this may affect the poll prospects in many seats.
BJD has fielded a former Congress minister Surendra Singh Bhoi after he joined the regional party after resigning from the grand old party against BJP MP Sangeeta Singh Deo. Bhoi’s candidature has also not been received well in some BJD sections.
Balangir district is also considered to be a strong base of the Congress because of heavyweights like Narasingha Mishra and Santosh Singh Saluja. While dealing with Congress, BJD sources stated, the decision will also have repercussions in other LS and Assembly seats. BJP and Congress heavyweights are in the fray from several western Odisha parliamentary and Assembly seats. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan is in the fray from the Sambalpur LS seat while OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak and campaign committee chairman Bhakta Das will contest from Nuapada and Narla Assembly seats. There has also been some dissatisfaction over the candidature of Pranab Prakash Das, the party organizational district belongs to Jajpur district secretary from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat against Pradhan.
“By nominating himself, the chief minister wants to convey the message to the voters that western Odisha continues to be a priority for him. This may help tackle the negative sentiments in the voters’ minds,” said a political observer.
Speculation is also rife in political circles that he will retain the Kantabanji seat after winning it. In 2019, though he had won from Bijepur, he preferred to retain Hinjili.
Though there is no official confirmation, sources said, he would leave the Hinjili seat for his political successor.