SAMBALPUR: As poll heat rises ahead of the general elections, all the three major political parties find themselves in a bind over candidate selection for the Sambalpur assembly constituency.
Sambalpur is a significant seat and has a bearing on politics of the entire region, making the search for a suitable candidate all the more important for the parties. With the stakes high, voters are eagerly anticipating emergence of fresh faces as the incumbent leaders battle perception.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) and sitting MLA of Sambalpur city, Jayanarayan Mishra has been dealing with health issues since past many years. Though Mishra was elected as Sambalpur MLA for the fourth term in 2019, defeating BJD leader and former MLA Raseswari Panigrahi by 4,380 votes, he has been away from his constituency for the most part.
What’s interesting though is his daughter, Subhashree Mishra has been active in party work lately and seems to be pinning hopes to fight the elections. However, party insiders seem indifferent to her rise as political successor of Mishra senior. Meanwhile, BJP district president, Girish Patel and state general secretary of BJP, Simanchal Khatei are geared up too.
Similarly, sitting MP of Sambalpur Nitish Gangdev has been out of sight since the day he was elected five years back. Voters believe Sambalpur has probably seen the least development in the constituency under his leadership and it has not helped the cause of the party in the assembly segments either. In around last one year, Gangdev has been seen only in a few occasions, sharing stage with other senior leaders at public gatherings.
Under such circumstances, speculations of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan contesting from the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat are rife and voters believe his dynamism can shore up BJP’s fortunes not only in the Parliamentary constituency but also positively impact assembly seats.
On the other hand, the problem of internal bickering and groupism remains unresolved in BJD and there is no clarity on who is going to be the face. While senior BJD leader Raseswari Panigrahi’s lack of participation indicates her low chances of contesting the elections, former minister and sitting Rairakhol MLA Rohit Pujari seems keen on contesting from Sambalpur.
He has started getting involved in activities in the constituency. However, Pujari’s performance in Rairakhol is unimpressive and hence his getting nominated from Sambalpur remains a question mark.
The Congress, too, has not been as aggressive and the party is struggling to choose a face from among the existing leaders.