CUTTACK: A turbulent situation prevails for the ruling BJD in Barabati-Cuttack Assembly constituency with the party receiving backlash over selection of candidate from the segment besides other unresolved conflicts.
On the other hand, while Congress seems to be going on the right track regarding campaigning, the BJP too is on the back foot apparently over delay in declaration of candidate for the seat.
Sources said the BJD’s decision to field former Salipur MLA and ex-district BJP unit president Prakash Behera from the seat has not gone down well with the local aspirants who had been vying for a party ticket since long. Behera joined the BJD after quitting the saffron party recently.
Behera’s selection as the BJD nominee from the segment has only flared up internal conflict and factionalism which became prominent after resignation of Subhas Singh from the Rajya Sabha to be elected as Cuttack Municipal Corporation mayor.
Former Barabati-Cuttack MLA Debashish Samantaray who had lost the seat in 2019 election was nominated to Rajya Sabha. Apart from Singh and Samantaray, Ashirbad Behera’s son Sanjay was also aspiring to contest the elections from the seat. Though the BJD top guns interfered and held several rounds of meetings with the CMC’s ruling party corporators and local leaders to amicably settle the dissidence, the matter is yet to be resolved. Meanwhile, though Behera has already started campaigning, voters of the constituency are seemingly unwilling to accept his candidature with open arms.
“I will prefer voting for the candidate hailing from the city locality as I would not be going to Salipur to air my grievances,” said 65-year-old Rebarani Bewa of Hatipokhari locality.
Congress candidate Sofia Firdous has meanwhile intensified her door-to-door campaigning along with her father Mohammed Moquim who had won from the seat in the 2019 elections. Moquim had been actively strengthening his organisation since the last one year in the constituency but was debarred from contesting the polls owing to a 24-year-old corruption case against him.
He is presently campaigning for his daughter to garner votes in her favour. If sources are to be believed, a majority of 37,500 voters belonging to the minority community is expected to vote in support of Sofia.
On the other hand, BJP after much delay declared 68-year-old Dr Purna Chandra Mohapatra as its candidate from the seat. Mohapatra filed his nomination papers on Thursday and is yet to begin campaigning for the elections. He is banking on the party’s organisation and Modi Guarantee.