It seems the Congress is more concerned with the delay in the official confirmation regarding the alliance between the ruling BJD and BJP in the state. As the party does not have the required number of candidates for the 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly constituencies, it is expecting that some rebel aspirants from the BJD and BJP camps will cross over to the party once there is official announcement of the alliance. But as the reported talks between the two erstwhile drags on, it has put the Congress in a very difficult situation. Screening committee meeting for shortlisting first phase candidates was held in New Delhi last week. Sources in the party said that announcement of candidates have been deferred indefinitely. A senior leader told this paper that the party is passing through a very difficult situation. If the alliance talks breaks at the last moment, the party will be left high and dry as it does not seem to have an alternate course of action.
~ Bijay Chaki
Ticket aspirants kept out of BJP SEC meeting
In a rare display of maintaining internal democracy, the BJP’s state election committee (SEC) decided to keep those members out of the meeting for shortlisting candidates when the particular constituency for which they were contenders came into consideration. Of the 19 members of the committee including three special invitees and one ex-officio member, 14 were in attendance. Leaving three members, state general secretary (organisation) Manas Mohanty, Odisha election co-in-charges Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Lata Usendi, the rest of the members are ticket aspirants. However, no one is sure if the norm was followed strictly. “I am not sure if state party president Manmohan Samal, also chairman of the SEC abstained when candidates were shortlisted for Chandbali Assembly seat for which he is the aspirant,” sources aware about the principle decided by the committee said. It would be difficult to know as some of the members were coming out while the discussion was on. Of the five members who could not make it to the meeting, four are ticket aspirants.
~ Bjoy Pradhan
Cash for faith at Lingaraj raises hackles
Lingaraj temple in the Capital City, like every year, saw a mammoth gathering on the occasion of Mahashivaratri this time. However, the arrangements put in place by the temple administration left a bad taste for many. The administration decided to cash in on the religious fervour by introducing VIP passes for the devotees who were willing to pay Rs 500 for getting priority access to the sanctum sanctorum. This, though, did not go down well with the devotees who were unaware of the arrangement and waited for several hours in serpentine queues to get a glimpse of the presiding deity on the auspicious occasion. A majority of them were also waiting to break their fast after offering prayers in the shrine. “It is not that we cannot pay Rs 500, but what about those who cannot afford it. We used to proudly say that Lingaraj temple never discriminated between the rich and the poor like other popular temples. Sadly, that isn’t the case anymore,” rued a devotee. Last year too, some servitors of the temple offered similar passes to devotees and the price ranged between Rs 150 and Rs 800, depending on the paying capacity and urgency of the person.
~ Diana Sahu