Odisha Elections 2024: Bengali Voters Hold Key In Three-Way Malkangiri Race

Malkangiri: With the twin elections in Odisha fast approaching, Malkangiri Assembly constituency is all set to witness an interesting triangular contest amid all out efforts by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to retain the seat. Similarly, Biju Janata Da; (BJD) is also leaving no stone unturned in its bid to wrest the seat, while Congress making a desperate attempt to bounce back in the tribal-dominated Assembly segment.

Seeking to capture the seat, the ruling BJD has fielded former MLA Manas Madkami against BJP’s Narasingha Madkami, a new face for the electoral battle. Congress, on the other hand, has again fielded Mala Madhi, who had given a tough fight to the BJP and BJD candidates in the last two Assembly elections held in 2014 as well as 2019.

With electioneering gaining momentum across the state, the candidates of all the three major political parties have stepped up their campaign in Malkangiri. BJP, which won the seat in 2019 elections, failed to perform well in the panchayat elections. BJD had been pushed to the third position in the last assembly elections, while Congress had occupied the second place. All the three political parties are making all out efforts to improve their performance in Malkangiri this time.

The electoral history of the constituency shows that Bengali voters play a key role in deciding the fate of candidates in Malkangiri. The assembly segment is home to more than 80,000 Bengali-speaking voters and the candidates are reaching out to them for gaining their support in the upcoming elections.

While the vote share of the ruling BJD had dropped by around seven per cent in 2014 Assembly polls, it got further reduced by around eight per cent in 2019. BJP, on the other hand, saw its vote share rise by over 17 per cent in the Assembly constituency, which has an estimated 1.95 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise. Notably, Makangiri Assembly seat (ST) comprises Sadar block, Kalimela block, Padia block and seven panchayats under Korukenda block.

BJP won the seat for the first time in the by-election held in 1992 when nominee Arabinda Dhali registered victory. Dhali went on to win the seat in 1995 and 2000 Assembly elections. However, Congress wrested the seat in 2004 when its candidate Nimai Chandra Sarkar was elected from the constituency.

In 2009, the seat went to the BJD as its candidate Mukunda Sodhi was elected here. In 2014, the BJD again won the seat as its candidate Manas Madkani was elected. BJP wrested the seat from the BJD in 2019 when its candidate Aditya Madhi defeated his nearest rival and Congress candidate Mala Madhi by a margin of over 25,000 votes. BJD’s Mukunda Sodhi was pushed to third position. As BJP changed its candidate this time, it dropped Adiya Madhi who won the seat after two decades. Observers say that the saffron party decided to replace its candidate as it failed to put up an impressive show in the last panchayat elections in the assembly segment.

Political observers are of the view that Bengali-speaking voters are doing to play a crucial role in deciding the fate of candidates in the upcoming elections in view of their numerical strength in the constituency. Dhali, who happens to be from the Bengali community, had won the seat thrice and he is now back in BJP. Apart from the saffron party, the ruling BJD and Congress are also making efforts to woo the Bengali voters.