Odisha Elections 2024: Aunt Vs Nephew Spices Up Nabarangpur Assembly Fight

Nabarangpur: Intra-family tussle appears to have become an inseparable part of Indian politics and Odisha is no exception to the phenomenon. Two members of a family are set to cross swords in Nabarangpur Assembly constituency in an interesting fight during the upcoming elections in the state. A keen contest between an aunt and her nephew is poised to spice up the fight in Nabarangpur Assembly seat this time.

While the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has nominated Kaushalya Pradhani for the Assembly seat, her nephew Dilip Pradhani will fight against her as Congress candidate. Veteran politician Khagapati Pradhani had been elected nine times from Nabarangpur Lok Sabha constituency during his eventful political career. Khagapati’s younger brother Gopinath Pradhani was the first Zilla Parishad chairman of Nabarangpur district. Gopinath’s son Sadasiva Pradhani was elected from Nabarangpur Assembly constituency as BJD candidate in 2019 elections. The ruling BJD has fielded Sadasiva’s wife Kaushalya from the Assembly seat this time.

Giving a touch of excitement to the fight, Congress has fielded Khagapati’s grandson Dilip Pradhani against his aunt Kaushalya in Nabarangpur. Apart from being the district president of the tribal cell of Congress, Dilip also happens to be a panchayat samiti member from Patraput panchayat under Tentulikhunta block. Dilip had won in the last panchayat elections giving a tough fight to the candidate supported by his uncle Sadasiva.

However, Sadasiva reportedly created obstacles for Dilip to become the block chairman. A cold war has been going on between Dilip and his uncle since then. Now, he is all set to take on his aunt in the upcoming Assembly elections.

On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeated Gouri Shankar Majhi in the Assembly seat this time. Gouri Shankar was defeated by Sadasiva by over 6,000 votes in 2019 Assembly polls. The BJP candidate is making all out efforts to taste victory in the upcoming elections. It is to be seen whether Kaushalya can replace her husband in the Assembly with a win or Dilip manages to take revenge for the panchayat election episode. No one can also rule out the BJP nominee gaining from the aunt-nephew fight.