BHUBANESWAR: A majority of the turncoats, who switched party ahead of the simultaneous polls in the state this year, seem to have failed to cut ice with the constituents. A quick review shows at least 60 per cent of them faced defeat in the electoral battle to both Assembly and Lok Sabha seats.
With both BJD and BJP desperately attempting to poach candidates from each others’ camps, the twin elections in 2024 saw multiple contenders from either side switching their political allegiance to increase their winning prospect.
Around 12 such candidates got ticket from BJD, while as many candidates secured BJP tickets to contest elections in the state this time. The Congress too, picked two turncoats to take on its opponents. However, of these 24 candidates, only a handful could make it to the list of winning candidates.
Six-time MP and BJP Lok Sabha candidate Bhartruhari Mahtab, and expelled BJD leader and Gopalpur MLA Pradip Panigrahy who switched side to saffron party right ahead of elections, posted thumping victory in Cuttack and Berhampur parliamentary seats respectively. However, except these two leaders, no other MP candidate who had changed party ahead of polls, could win.
Lekhasri Samantsinghar, the former BJP spokesperson who had migrated to BJD and got a ticket to contest from Balasore, faced a strong defeat from BJP candidate and former union minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi. Meanwhile, Congress leader and Titlagarh MLA Surendra Singh Bhoi who fought from Balangir Lok Sabha seat on a BJD ticket lost to BJP’s Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo.
Similarly, BJD Lok Sabha candidates Parineeta Mishra from Bargarh, Bhrugu Baxipatra from Berhampur, Anshuman Mohanty from Kendrapara, Dhanurjay Siddu from Keonjhar and Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur Nagendra Pradhan, whom their parties had imported from rival group ahead of polls, also faced defeat.
In Assembly elections, Rohit Tirkey, Congress leader and son of tribal leader George Tirkey who joined had BJD ahead of polls, secured win from Birmitrapur constituency, while Santosh Khatua, who was earlier a member of the BJD, won on a BJP ticket from Nilagiri. Senior Congress leader Ganeswar Behera, who was offered a BJD ticket for Kendrapara Assembly seat also won. Meanwhile, expelled BJD leader and Chilika MLA Prasanta Jagadev who fought on a BJP ticket, won from the Khurda assembly segment.
Adhiraj Panigrahi of BJD and Akash Das Nayak and Parshuram Dhada of BJP are also in the list of turncoats who emerged victorious from Khariar, Korei and Soro Assembly seats respectively.
However, the list of turncoats that lost the Assembly polls exceeded the winners’ list. BJD’s Sukanta Nayak from Nilagiri, Madhab Dhada from Soro, Prakash Behera from Cuttack-Barabati, BJP’s Tejeswar Parida from Patkura, Arindam Roy from Salipur, Kailash Kulesika from Laxmipur, Dambaru Sisa from Chitrakonda and Congress’ Sipra Mallick from Kendrapara are among the candidates who failed to win despite switching sides at the last moment.