BJP looks to retain stronghold in Bonai Assembly
ROURKELA: The BJP is seeking to regain its lost glory in Bonai Assembly constituency by setting its house in order ahead of the 2024 elections.
Reserved for ST candidate, Bonai was once a stronghold of the saffron party. However, the BJP citadel crumbled over the last two decades largely due to infighting in the party.
The Assembly seat holds greater significance for the BJP, especially former union minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram who had kicked off his political career by becoming the MLA of Bonai in 1990. Jual retained the seat in 1995 but resigned in 1997 to contest the Sundargarh Lok Sabha (LS) polls.
While Jual’s political career took off, the BJP’s fortunes plummeted in Bonai. BJP candidate late Dayanidhi Kisan lost the 1997 bypoll but managed to make a comeback in 2000 election.
BJP insiders said from 2000 onwards, BJP could not keep its house in order. In 2004 elections, BJP ignored Dayanidhi and fielded Bhimsen Chaudhary as its candidate. Disgruntled Dayanidhi contested the polls as an Independent and secured 19,644 votes, thereby making it easy for CPM’s Laxman Munda to win with a lead of 5,727 votes against Bhimsen.
In 2009, Bhimsen won the seat for BJP. But in 2014, he fought on a Congress ticket while Dayanidhi contested for BJD with each of them bagging around 37,000 votes. CPM’s Laxman won the polls with a slender margin of 1,818 votes. BJP candidate Luthar Oram dropped to the fourth place.
In 2019 elections, BJP’s Bonai unit president Anil Barla managed to slightly improve the party’s vote share and was placed at the third spot as Laxman in alliance with Congress retained the seat with a lead of 12,030 votes against BJD’s Ranjit Kisan.
Political observers said the difference between CPM and BJP in 2019 polls was 22,673 votes. The saffron party may not find it easy to bridge the gap with CPM which has three of the four panchayat samiti (PS) chairpersons and one zilla parishad (ZP) member in its kitty. The BJD with one PS chairman and seven of the eight ZP members, also looks strong in Bonai. As of now, the BJD seems to be clear favourite, but it depends on whether the CPM goes solo in 2024 polls.
Jual was not immediately available for comments. BJP general secretary of Bonai unit Luthar Oram said under Jual’s leadership, the party is working hard with all possible means for a victory in the Assembly seat. The popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the emotive issue of Ram temple construction at Ayodhya would work in BJP’s favour, he added.