Bhubaneswar: As the BJD and the BJP engage in talks to fine-tune their possible electoral alliance, all eyes are on which party will bag the prestigious Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat.
Will Aparajita Sarangi get a chance to retain her position as Bhubaneswar MP? This question is being discussed in political circles here as the BJD is reportedly keen to keep Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat for its candidate.
Sources said the BJD is insistent on having Bhubaneswar seat with an aim to retain its stronghold as well as possibly keep Aparajita out of the electoral fray. During the 1998, 1999, 2004 general elections when BJP-BJD were in alliance, Bhubaneswar parliamentary seat was with the regional party with its candidate Prasanna Patasani clinching the seat on all three occasions as well as in 2009 and 2014.
In 2019, BJP fielded IAS officer-turned-politician Aparajita from Bhubaneswar and she won the seat despite BJD winning six of the 7 Assembly constituencies, which constitute this parliamentary segment with one going to the Congress. She has since been a vocal critic of the ruling BJD dispensation, having raised alleged land and mining scams from time to time, while criticising the governance system in Odisha.
“Retaining Bhubaneswar could also mean killing two birds with one stone. While it would ensure the BJD retains it turf and put a brake on perceived growth of the BJP, it could also deliver a severe jolt to Aparajita’s political ambitions,” said a senior BJD leader.
The BJD has long been projecting its general secretary Shreemayee Mishra as its nominee for Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat in 2024 elections.
Incidentally like Aparajita, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (BJP) and BJD leader and 5T Chairman V K Pandian are former IAS officers who are occupying prominent positions in Odisha politics now. “The bickering within the state bureaucracy seemingly has now spilled over to state’s political sphere with the former IAS officers trying to outwit each other. Too many bureaucrats-turned-netas occupying prominent positions might not be acceptable to political bosses as well as the electorate for long. Hence someone somewhere might have to pay the price,” noted a BJP leader.
While both camps have maintained a stoic silence on the development, Pandian and BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das rushed to the national capital in a chartered flight on Thursday evening. The state BJP leaders are already camping in Delhi.
