SAMBALPUR: Infighting has broken out in the Sambalpur unit of BJP over selection of candidates, casting a shadow over the saffron party’s poll prospects in the district.
The major rebellion is in Rairakhol Assembly seat where BJP’s candidate Debendra Mohapatra is facing opposition from a fellow party leader. Upset over denial of party ticket, senior BJP leader Govind Agrawal and his followers have withdrawn support from Mohapatra. Agrawal was the frontunner for BJP ticket from Rairakhol.
Sources said the senior leader worked hard to strengthen the BJP organisation in Rairakhol for more than a decade. The denial of ticket to Agrawal has reportedly hurt his supporters who have disassociated themselves from Mohapatra.
While candidates of the ruling BJD and Congress have intensified electioneering by mobilising maximum number of their supporters, Mohapatra’s campaign is yet to pick up pace due to lack of adequate backing from party workers. Poll pundits said with Mohapatra’s candidacy marred by rebellion, both the BJD and Congress are likely to reap benefits by exploiting the situation.
Mohapatra is locking horns with BJD veteran Prasanna Acharya and Congress candidate Assaf Ali Khan. The BJD has been winning from Rairakhol since 2000 and its candidate Acharya has already won the seat once in 2009 elections.
The BJD has resolved its internal issues by replacing sitting MLA Rohit Pujari with Acharya from Rairakhol. And with an existing strong base of BJD supporters in the constituency, the electoral battle is being expected to be a cakewalk for Acharya.
On the other hand, Congess candidate Khan, who fought the last three elections unsuccessfully and despite being embroiled in a number of controversies, has been given another chance by the grand old party. He is confident of giving a tough fight to the ruling BJD. However, Khan has also lost a large number of his supporters who have either joined BJD or BJP.
In 2009 elections, Acharya defeated Khan by a margin of 9,764 votes from Rairakhol. While Acharya secured 37,718 votes, the Congress candidate polled 27,954 votes. Similarly in 2014, BJD’s Pujari defeated Khan by a margin of 11,909 votes. In the last elections, Pujari secured 57,111 votes and defeated Khan by a margin of 14, 632 votes. The Congress candidate had polled 42,479 votes. In all the three elections, BJP was placed at the third position.
A similar infighting has also erupted in Sambalpur Assembly constituency where the BJP’s district unit president Girish Patel has been reportedly keeping distance from party candidate Jay Narayan Mishra after losing the ticket to him.