SAMBALPUR: As the fight intensifies for the prestigious Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, the BJD finds itself grappling with the impact of the exodus of key leaders in almost all major Assembly segments which could have a significant bearing on the ruling party’s prospects.
In the Sambalpur parliamentary seat, BJD’s Pranab Prakash Das is pitted against Union Minister and BJP candidate Dharmendra Pradhan. Das has the onerous task of plugging the holes the exit of senior and disgruntled party members has created in all major Assembly segments. Those who left the ruling party switched to the opposition camp, posing hurdles for the BJD’s plans of keeping its flock together.
Sambalpur Assembly seat, for example, saw former MLA and spokesperson of BJD Dr Raseswari Panigrahi quitting over Rairakhol legislator Rohit Pujari’s nomination by the party. The BJD tried to control the damage by swapping seats of Pujari with that of BJD veteran Prasanna Acharya, who was initially fielded from Rairakhol.
However, Panigrahi’s resignation was followed by at least 41 other functionaries of different wings of the party, all hardcore supporters of the former MLA. The noted gynaecologist has a stronghold not only in Sambalpur city but in several key areas in the constituency due to her years of activities in the past.
Despite Das’ candidature from Sambalpur, the party’s inability to prevent the exit of Panigrahi has not sent the right message. After Panigrahi quit, ruling party members like Ramdas Panda, founder of social organisation Sambal, moved to the BJP camp.
BJD’s troubles with candidate selection did not end with Sambalpur Assembly seat alone. In Rengali, the party faced a similar predicament with prominent leaders like Motilal Tanty and Reena Tanty heading to the BJP and Dilip Duria joining the Congress.
The Tanty couple has a strong organisation in Rengali and they decided to quit the party after Reena was denied a second chance this election as she lost in 2019. Likewise, Duria, former state secretary of BJD was assured an MLA ticket from Rengali only to be handed disappointment. His contesting as Congress candidate may impact BJD’s bottomline.
In Deogarh district, the ruling party put itself in an awkward situation after Arundhati Devi, member of the royal family and wife of sitting BJP MP, Nitish Ganga Deb, joined the BJD amid fanfare and handed a nomination only to be replaced with Romancha Ranjan Biswal who had lost the last election to BJP’s Subash Panigrahy.
Athamallik Assembly seat, too, saw a similar trend after sitting MLA, Ramesh Chandra Sai joined the BJP as the ruling party did not renominate him despite his huge victory by a margin of 47,184 votes in 2019. To add to the woes, former minister Sanjeeb Kumar Sahu has now geared up as he has been fielded by the BJP for this term.
Political pundits say the impact of this leadership exodus cannot be underestimated and the failure to address internal rifts could prove tough for BJD to effectively navigate the challenges in Sambalpur.
For the BJP, not only the departure of key leaders from the BJD but also the Congress presents a golden opportunity to capitalise on the prevailing discontent and consolidate its position in Sambalpur. By wooing defectors and leveraging their popularity, the saffron party aims to make significant inroads into traditional BJD strongholds.
