ROURKELA : Contesting on their own sans high-pitch campaigning, Congress’ SS Razzen Ekka (51) and CPM’s Laxman Munda (61) retained Rajgangpur and Bonai Assembly seats respectively with better margin than 2019.
Both leaders’ work at the grassroots and personal rapport with voters helped them prevail over BJD and BJP and their well-oiled poll machinery. Sources said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra at Rajgangpur on February 8, did not help Razzen who took charge of his election campaign alone only to enhance his winning lead by 10 times. The BJD and BJP’s high-pitched campaigns supported by stars failed to cut the ice with voters in Rajgangpur.
Proving poll pundits wrong Razzen this time increased his vote share to 66,869 from 53,918 in 2019 to pull up a convincing winning lead of 10,184 over his nearest BJD rival Anil Barwa, son of state BJD senior vice-president and former minister Mangla Kisan. BJP’s Narsingh Minz came third with 52,655 votes. Razzen turned his five-year tenure into pro-incumbency as in 2019 he had won with a narrow margin of 946 votes over Mangla, while Narsingh was just 1,022 votes behind Razzen.
Razzen said he knew the results from the beginning as he fully remained connected with the voters. He left no stone unturned to support people during the Covid-19 pandemic and was personally accessible to people when they needed him. Razzen claimed with unstinted trust on him people fought his battle, adding his election expenditure was just a fraction of the BJD and BJP.
The Congress leader said he looks forward to complete the pending tasks of converting Rajgangpur into a sub-division, strengthen the healthcare system, address drinking water problem and ensure job opportunities among other things.
Similarly, Laxman achieved a hat-trick in 2024 and his winning leads kept on rising from 1,118 votes in 2014 to 12,030 in 2019 votes and 23,439 in 2024. He bagged 81,008 votes while his nearest BJD rival and former MLA Bhimsen Chaudhary secured 57,569 votes. BJP’s Sebati Naik was at a distant third with 30,067 votes.
CPM leader Pravat Panda said Laxman’s connect at the grassroots benefitted people and was vital for his victory.
He said the CPM MLA tirelessly worked to ensure jobs for hundreds of jobless youth in local mines, judiciously used periphery development and CSR resources to ensure posting of teachers, doctors and paramedics in schools and health institutions and took to the streets for his people to ensure drinking water and better roads among other things.