BHUBANESWAR: The BJD has dropped at least 30 per cent of its sitting MLAs and 50 per cent of sitting MPs this simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Although it was speculated that the regional party, which aims to return to the power for the sixth consecutive term, would drop more than 50 per cent of its sitting MLAs on the basis of their performance, the failed talks on alliance with BJP forced it to retain some of the sitting lawmakers.
Party sources said 33 sitting MLAs of the 112 elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2019 and six MPs of the 12 who won in the last elections have been denied tickets. Among the incumbent MPs, while Dhenkanal MP Mahesh Sahoo and Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Majhi have been fielded from Hindol and Jharigam Assembly constituencies respectively, Bhartruhari Mahtab resigned from the party and got nomination from BJP in Cuttack.
Political observers believe BJD has attempted to revitalise its image and appeal to a broader spectrum of voters by replacing the incumbent lawmakers. The party has been successful in poaching two disgruntled former BJP leaders, who have been fielded from two prestigious constituencies - Berhampur and Balasore. It has also reposed faith on former Congress leaders in Kendrapara, Balangir and Keonjhar constituencies.
However, nine family members of the dropped MLAs have managed to bag tickets. They are Archanarekha Behera (wife of Subrat Tarai) from Raghunathpali, Preetinanda Kanungo (wife of Rajkishore Das) from Morada, Sanjukta Singh (wife of Rajanikant Singh) from Angul, Ankit Pratap Jena (son of Pratap Jena) from Mahanga, Chinmayananda Srirup Deb (son of Usha Devi) from Chikiti, Gitanjali Routray (wife of Sambit Routray) from Paradip, Ramesh Majhi (brother of Prakash Majhi), Sanghamitra Swain (wife of Purna Chandra Swain) from Surada and Kausalya Pradhani (wife of Sadasiva Pradhani) from Nabarangpur.
Besides, the party has fielded sitting Bangiriposi MLA Sudam Marndi as Lok Sabha candidate from Mayurbhanj and his wife Ranjita Marndi as the nominee from Bangiriposi Assembly segment. Similarly, Korei MLA Pranab Prakash Das has been fielded as the Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur and his mother Sandhyarani Das from Korei seat.
The regional party has taken the lead by nominating 33 per cent (seven) women candidates for Lok Sabha and 23 per cent (35) in Assembly polls. However, the decision to drop sitting MLAs and MPs could have far-reaching implications for the BJD’s future political fortunes. A senior BJD leader said by replacing candidates with stronger contenders, the party aims at maximising its chances of winning more seats. Public sentiments and winnability also factored into the decision, he said.