CUTTACK: Several rallies were taken out in the city on Friday several heavyweight candidates including BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab, BJD’s Santrupt Misra and Samrudha Odisha’s Minati Patnaik, known for giving away her property worth Rs 1 crore to a rickshaw puller, filing their nominations for Cuttack Parliamentary constituency.
Mahtab, rode pillion on a bike and arrived at the returning officer and district collector Arindam Dakua’s office along with a handful of supporters. “This election will certainly be a fight for ‘Odia Asmita’. The BJP has already announced and promised financial assistance to women through welfare schemes and pensions. Along with development, there is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee. The problems of Cuttack district like lack of industries, cold storages and defunct sugar mills, will be addressed. The fight is for a double-engine government and to protect Odia Asmita,” Mahtab told mediapersons after filing his nomination.
Santrupt, however, arrived at the office in a huge workers’ rally from Biju Patnaik Park and filed his nomination in the presence of Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, Rajya Sabha MP Debasish Samantaray, CMC Mayor Subhas Singh, Barabati-Cuttack MLA candidate Prakash Behera.
“Development and transformation work undertaken by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his popularity are reflected in each household of Cuttack. It will help me winning the election with a huge margin,” said Misra to mediapersons after filing his nomination.
Minati of Sutahat locality, who moved by love and affection shown by a rickshaw puller and his family had adopted him and gifted him all her jewellery, land and residential building worth Rs 1 crore in 2021, has also filed her nomination for contesting as a candidate of Samruddha Odisha.
“I have been serving the poor and distressed after the death of my daughter and husband. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who has been governing Odisha for the last 25 years does not like Odia people. I don’t know why Pandian, a non-Odia stands by his side. Similarly six-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab keeps harping about receiving the best parliamentarian award. What did the people of Cuttack get from his award. I have also received several awards after media highlighted my story of donating my property to a rickshaw puller. Samruddha Odisha political party has given me ticket and I am going to contest the election. I assure to serve people and develop villages. If people express discontentment, then I shall resign within a year,” said Minati.
Apart from nomination of three MP candidates, Congress’ nominee for Barabati-Cuttack Assembly segment Sofia Firdous accompanied by her father Mohammad Moquim and a few of her supporters filed her nomination paper before returning officer-cum-sub-collector Jyoti Sankar Roy. “In view of scorching heat, I did not want to trouble my workers. Hence instead of a rally, I came with my father and a few supporters to file my nomination,” said Sofia.
Similarly BJD’s nominee for Choudwar-Cuttack Assembly segment Souvic Biswal, BJP’s Nayan Kishore Mohanty and Congress candidate Meera Mallik arrived in rallies to file their nominations on Thursday. BJD’s candidate for Cuttack Sadar seat Chandra Sarathi Behera and BJP candidate Prakash Chandra Sethi filed their nomination before ADM (Election) Siba Toppo on the day.