BHUBANESWAR: The Jayadev Assembly segment of Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency is in for an intriguing electoral battle in the ensuing general elections.
With all the major parties struggling to keep their organisational base in order, the Assembly seat that has been a stronghold of BJD for the last three terms, is witnessing an interesting yet strange political equation right ahead of the elections.
After Arabinda Dhali, the sitting MLA of BJD having a track record of winning two terms defected to Opposition BJP and became the candidate of saffron party, the ruling party has reposed its faith in Independent Naba Kishore Mallick who had stood second in 2019.
While Dhali’s allegiance to BJP was a blow for the BJD, the saffron party is also said to be in disorder following death of party’s senior leader Narendra Nath Nayak in 2022. If sources are to be believed, a faction of BJP leaders and workers in the seat are also unhappy with the decision of the party leadership to pick Dhali from the constituency.
On the other hand, the Congress party has its own challenges and internal rifts to deal within the seat. The grand old party that had named Jayanta Kumar Bhoi as its nominee from the seat initially, threw a curveball by fielding Krishna Chandra Sagaria, the ex-MLA of Koraput, from the constituency.
The party’s plan to field a person from a distant district to sway voters of SC community, that constitute around 50 per cent of the electors, however, has not gone down well with many local leaders and supporters who have now started questioning the wisdom of selecting a candidate unfamiliar with local issues. Amidst this upheaval, Congress candidate Sagaria said people of the constituency will support him this time.
The ex-MLA said that during his previous stint as a lawmaker and chairman of OPCC’s Dalit cell, he had visited the constituency several times and is well aware of the problems faced by the locals, especially those belonging to the SC community as well as minorities.
BJD leaders couldn’t be reached, while BJP leaders also claimed that the saffron party which has improved its vote-share gradually in the seat will be favoured by the electors this time.