Padampur Bypoll: Voting History, Sympathy Wave & Woman Card; Barsha Bariha Likely Candidate For BJD

Bhubaneswar: While BJP nominee Pradip Purohit will file his nominations for Padampur bypoll in the presence of Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and  Bisweshwar Tudu on Monday, BJD is yet to make its choice clear with three family members of the late MLA Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha keen to enter the fray.

Congress has also named Satya Bhusan Sahu as its candidate for the by-election scheduled on December 5.

While Tilottama Singh, widow of the tribal MLA, was initially seen pushing for her candidature, names of his daughters Barsha and Kadambini are also doing the rounds. An OAS officer posted in Nuapada district has already tendered his resignation to contest the bypoll on BJD ticket.

However, if sources are to be believed, Barsarani has emerged as the frontrunner with the party keen to cash in on the sympathy wave while playing the woman card. But it seems to be in no hurry to announce the candidate and is weighing all aspects to avoid a debacle like Dhamnagar, where a rebel candidate queered its poll pitch.

Former Minister Susanta Singh, who is the election in-charge of BJD, told the media that BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would soon announce the candidate, who will file nomination papers on November 16.

Members of Binjhal Samaj, who meet the party supremo at Naveeen Niwas on Sunday, also pushed for a candidate from the family. Of the 2.5 lakh voters in Padampur, Bhinjal community constitute about 3% and the tribals will play a key role in the results.

The polling history of the constituency, which has not voted for a party for two consecutive terms, will also be a concern for BJD. BJD won the seat in 2000, 2009 and 2019 while Purohit emerged victorious in 2014 on BJP ticket and Congress’ Sahu in 2004.

In 2019, Purohit lost the seat by a margin of 5,734 votes while the Congress finished third. While the BJD had won the seat by securing 41.29% of total 2.01 lakh votes, the BJP and Congress candidates had bagged 38.45% and 16.25% votes respectively.

To bolster its prospects, the BJD has inducted Raju Ghibela, who had contested the 2019 polls as an independent candidate and polled over 4,500 votes, into the party and also extended its support to the demand for district status to Padampur sub-division. Naveen also inaugurated and laid stones for a slew of projects worth Rs 488 crore on October 29, before the by-election was announced.