Kendrapara: A heated tussle has broken out among all the major political parties over getting nomination to contest the upcoming elections from Kendrapara assembly seat.
BJD has not yet announced its candidate for the SC-reserved seat. Sources said sitting MLA and senior BJD leader Shashi Bhushan Behera is adamant on his demand to contest again from this seat. However, he is facing a tough challenge from five other ticket contenders – former Kendrapara MLAs Sipra Mallick and Kishore Tarei, Kendrapara Zilla Parishad president Geeta Sethi and youth leaders Manas Sethi and Rajesh Das.
Apart from this, speculations are also rife that the ruling party will field senior Congress leader Ganeshwar Behera on this seat. BJD sources said the party is discussing the possibility of making Ganeshwar its candidate from Kendrapara.
When contacted, Ganeshwar said, “Many well-wishers and voters in my constituency have been urging me to join BJD. However, I am yet to take any decision in this regard.
The Kendrapara unit of Congress is in confusion as Ganeshwar has not clarified his stand. Senior Congress leader Dharanidhar Suar said, “We are worried because elections are approaching and Ganeshwar has not yet quashed rumors of his entry into BJD.”
Party sources said that Haldhar Sethi is the frontrunner of Congress ticket from Kendrapara seat. Similarly, Kalpana Mallik, Abhimanyu Gochayat and Sunakar Behera are in the race to contest the elections from BJP. Local BJP leader Abhimanyu said, “BJD’s grip on Kendrapara has loosened mainly due to the anti-people policies of the government. This time the voters of Kendrapara will choose the BJP candidate in the elections.
BJD district unit president Dhiren Sahu said that Congress and BJP have no base in Kendrapara. “The state government carried out many development works in the area and voters will ensure BJD’s victory again in the upcoming elections.”
