BERHAMPUR: AS political activities intensify with the announcement of candidates, all major parties find themselves grappling with the challenge posed by a surge in aspirants in Rayagada Assembly segment. Add to it, the factionalism. In the midst of the confusion, all eyes are on sitting MLA Makaranda Muduli who had sprung a surprise and won as an Independent candidate five years back.
In 2019, the Rayagada assembly segment had emerged as an exception. Witnessing a multi-cornered contest, Muduli, aged 46 at the time, defied expectations and won the seat. He stood out as the sole independent candidate to win the 2019 election and was the poorest MLA in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
In the fiercely contested poll, he garnered 52,844 votes, edging out candidates from major parties such as Lal Bihari Himirika of BJD, Kadraka Appalaswamy of Congress, and Basanta Kumar Ullaka of BJP. His win proved that personality matters more than party affiliation in the segment.
However, after his election, Muduli extended support to the ruling BJD, participating in various functions organised by the party over the past five years. Despite speculation about his induction into the party, Muduli is yet to officially join the BJD.
As the number of aspirants increases within the major political parties, Muduli appears to have adopted a ‘wait and watch’ approach to determine whether to align with a party or contest independently once again.
Muduli began his political journey by joining the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2000 and contested unsuccessfully from the Laxmipur Assembly segment in Koraput as a BSP candidate in 2004.
Subsequently, he joined the Congress and contested from the Rayagada segment in 2014 and lost. Undeterred, Muduli continued to serve the people of the area and eventually contested independently in 2019 to win the seat.
With the BJP’s ‘Modi guarantee’ wave, the BJD’s ‘Naveen Odisha’ slogan, and the resurgence of the Gamango family and former bureaucrat Bijay Patnaik strengthening the Congress, the poll scenario in the Rayagada segment has become increasingly intriguing. With the segment falling under the Koraput Parliamentary constituency represented by Saptagiri Ulaka of the Congress, Muduli’s intentions remain unclear to his supporters even as elections are inching closer.