KENDRAPARA: An intense tussle has broken out in all the major political parties for securing nominations to contest the upcoming polls from Kendrapara Assembly seat.
The BJD is yet to announce its candidate for the SC-reserved seat. Sources said incumbent MLA and senior BJD leader Shashi Bhusan Behera has been adamant in his demand to contest from the seat again. However, he is facing a tough challenge from five other ticket aspirants - former Kendrapara MLAs Sipra Mallick and Kishor Tarei, chairperson of Kendrapara Zilla Parishad Gita Sethi and youth leaders Manas Sethi and Rajesh Das.
Besides, speculations are rife about the ruling party fielding senior Congress leader Ganeswar Behera in the seat. Sources in the BJD said there are discussions about the possibility of the party nominating Ganeswar from Kendrapara as its candidate.
Contacted, Ganeswar said, “Many well-wishers and voters of my constituency have been urging me to join the BJD. However, I am yet to take a decision in this regard.”
With Ganeswar not making his stance clear, the Kendrapara unit of Congress is in a disarray. Senior Congress leader Dharanidhar Suar said, “We are worried as elections are inching closer and Ganeswar is yet to scotch the rumours about his entry in BJD.”
Party sources said Haladhar Sethi is the frontrunner for the Congress ticket in Kendrapara seat. Similarly, Kalpana Mallick, Abhimanyu Gochayat and Sunakar Behera are in the race to contest from BJP. Abhimanyu, a local BJP leader, said, “The BJD’s hold over Kendrapara has slackened mainly due to the anti-people policies of the government. Voters of Kendrapara will elect the BJP candidate in the polls this time.”
President of the district unit of BJD Dhiren Sahoo said the Congress and BJP have no base in Kendrapara. “The state government did many development works in the area and voters will ensure BJD’s win again in the upcoming polls.”