Bhubaneswar: As the countdown for the Padampur bypoll has started, all eyes are on who will get the BJD ticket.
After the Dhamnagar drubbing which many attributed to the wrong choice of candidate, the regional party is expected to do a rigorous exercise before selecting its candidate. “The sole criterion is winnability,” said a senior party leader even as rivals BJP and Congress have also started the process for finalising their nominees for the December 5 electoral battle. The by-election was necessitated due to the death of BJD MLA Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha.
By retaining the Dhamnagar seat the BJP halted the BJD’s juggernaut, which had handsomely won all five previous bypolls since 2019. The defeat amid rebellion (by Rajendra Das) has seemingly rattled the regional party for whom the stakes in Padampur are higher as it has to hold on to the seat, which Bariha represented five terms including thrice on BJD ticket in 2000, 2009 and 2019. He was elected to the state assembly in 1990 and in 1995 on Janata Dal ticket.
The BJD, which attempted to counter the sympathy wave by fielding a woman candidate Abanti Das in Dhamnagar but failed short, is treading cautiously this time. While Tilottama Singh Bariha, widow of the tribal MLA Bariha, was seen pushing for her candidature by giving bytes to the media, her nephew’s wife Madhabi Singh Bariha too has joined the race by telling newspersons that she is hopeful for BJD ticket.
“I hope the Chief Minister will shower his blessings and give me the ticket and enable me to fulfil the dreams of my husband,” Tilottama told the media.
Madhabi in her media interaction requested BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to give the ticket to one of the family members. “I am also aspiring for a ticket for the upcoming bypoll. If nominated, I will fulfil my uncle’s long-pending dreams like opening more schools and colleges in our locality and repairing roads among other civic issues.”
Notably, Bariha’s nephews have been a major headache for him and have dragged him into controversy. His nephew Kunal Singh Bariha, who was working with the Odisha police, was involved in the alleged rape of a scheduled caste girl. His other two nephews were also arrested at Paikmal in 2009 for allegedly assaulting a woman and another villager.
The name of an OAS officer posted in Nuapada district as the probable BJD candidate is also doing the rounds. Other than the sympathy factor, the party is considering acceptability, efficiency and support base to decide its choice, party insiders said.
The Naveen Patnaik-led party has entrusted senior leader and former MP Prasanna Acharya with the task of leading the campaign in Padampur with former Minister Susanta Singh in charge of the management of the constituency with the Jajpur team of the party earning a lot of brickbats for the Dhamnagar debacle. In 2019, Acharya lost the Bargarh Lok Sabha election to BJP’s Suresh Pujari.
Similarly, three ministers from western Odisha – Niranjan Pujari, Rajendra Dholakia and Nabakishore Das – would be in charge of three blocks, Padampur, Paikmal and Jharbandh, respectively. Other leaders from western Odisha, including Minister Tukuni Sahoo, Debesh Acharya, Snehangini Chhuria, Rita Sahoo, Saroj Meher, Puspendra Singh Deo, have been assigned major zones in the constituency.
While the selection dilemma haunts BJD, things seem more sorted in the upbeat saffron camp. The BJP is likely to re-nominate senior party leader Pradip Purohit as its candidate for the by-election. He had won the seat in 2014 and lost to Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha by 5,734 votes in 2019.
The BJP has constituted a three-member committee, comprising Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari, Kalahandi MP Basanta Panda and leader of Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra for selection of a suitable candidate for the constituency. However, if insiders are to be believed the candidature of Purohit is a foregone conclusion as there is no other contender in the party.
The saffron party is likely to enter the fray with its cohesive approach and spirited campaign led by senior leaders. The BJD, on the other hand, has to work on the fault lines that seem to have developed lately and put up a united front.
“BJP has made special strategy for Padampur by-election. The party’s MLA strength had gone down to 22 after the loss in Balasore and we will make it 23 again by winning Padampur bypoll. We will also form government in Odisha in 2024 with 2/3rd majority,” Mishra said.
For Congress, Satya Bhushan Sahu is a leading contender. He has won the seat thrice – in 2004, 1980 and 1985. He was also the party nominee in the 2019 elections. Senior MLA Santosh Saluja and former minister Kishore Chandra Patel, who finished second in Brajrajnagar bypoll, are looking after candidate selection.
According to sources, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak is likely to receive a report from the 4-member committee headed by Patel on Wednesday. The state Congress chief said that the party organisation was weak in Dhamnagar, but it will go for an effective campaign in all panchayats and wards in Padampur.
