Bhubaneswar: As campaigning picks up momentum in Odisha, it is becoming increasingly clear that the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is trying hard to keep anti-incumbency at bay by denying tickets to a large number of sitting MLAs and replacing them, in most cases, either with their sons or wives. More than sons the focus seems to be on the wives with chief minister Naveen Patnaik following the avowed policy of promoting members of women in politics.
As women have been the loyal voters of his party since its inception, he has been campaigning for 33% reservation for them in the parliament and the state legislatures across the country. Patnaik, who also happens to be the president of BJD, has already fielded women in seven out of 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, thus meeting the promised 33% target. Thirty-four women have so far been nominated on assembly seats, making it roughly 24% of the 147 seats at stake. This is much higher compared to the 2019 figure of 19 when the party did not find enough eligible candidates from the fair sex.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Senior BJD leader and sitting Morada MLA Rajkishore Das, who has been replaced by the party this time with his wife Preetinanda Kanungo, feels the chief minister has taken the right step by fielding more women candidates. “This has created a positive image of the party and our campaign is making the right kind of impact on the people,” said Das adding that empowerment of women remains one of the top priorities of the chief minister.
However, many other BJD leaders feel that the candidature of women in the constituencies where they have replaced their husbands would not create any bitterness because their spouses know that in the event of victory, the control will be in their hands. “We have seen this happening in the panchayat elections and this will also happen in the assembly elections. Most of these women are actually proxies for their husbands. But this helps the party fight anti-incumbency as they are entering the electoral arena with a clean slate unlike their husbands many of whom had incurred the wrath of the people because of their acts of omission and commission,” said a BJD leader who did not wish to be named.
Like in Morada in Angul, too, sitting MLA and former minister Rajanikant Singh has been replaced by his wife Sanjukta even though he had been winning the seat since 2004. In the Surada assembly constituency, which falls under the Aska parliamentary seat, three-time MLA Purna Chandra Swain has given way to his wife Sanghamitra. All these women will be making their poll debut this time.
Among other women debutants of the BJD are Indira Nanda, wife of former state minister Rabi Narayan Nanda who is contesting the Jeypore assembly seat which falls under the Koraput Lok Sabha constituency. Her husband had won the seat thrice between 2000 and 2009 but he lost to the Congress’s Taraprasad Bahinipati in the 2014 and 2019 polls.
Subhasini, wife of former Balasore MP Rabindra Kumar Jena, who unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the seat, is in the fray from Basta, one of the seven assembly seats falling under the Balasore parliamentary constituency which is witnessing an interesting contest this time with former union minister and BJP candidate Pratap Sarangi pitted against his own party turncoat Lekhashree Samantsinghar who is the BJD candidate on the seat.
While on the reserved seat of Bangiriposi sitting MLA and state minister Sudam Marndi, who has been fielded this time from the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat, has been replaced by his wife Ranjita, in Paradip sitting MLA Sambit Routray has made way for his better half Geetanjali. Similarly, three-time MLA Subrat Tarai has been replaced by his wife Archana Rekha Behara on the Raghunathpali assembly seat.
In some of the seats, the party has nominated the children of sitting MLAs who had to be replaced because of a variety of reasons including advancing age and unwillingness to contest. A good example of the reluctance of the sitting MLA to pave the way for the political baptism of the next generation is the Chikiti seat in Ganjam. With former minister and six-time MLA from the seat Usha Devi expressing her unwillingness to contest, her son Srirup Deb has been nominated by the BJD to contest from the family bastion. Scion of the Chikiti royal family, Deb has been accompanying his mother during campaigning in the past. But this election is going to be his test by fire as he is pitted against the two sons of former assembly speaker Chintamani Dyansamantara, one representing the BJP and another the Congress.
While the son of BJD heavyweight Pratap Jena, who has been kept out of the fray this time because of a criminal case against him, would be making his electoral debut from Mahanga assembly seat. Arabinda Mohapatra, son of veteran Bijoy Mohapatra, who was expelled from BJD 24 years ago, will be the party’s candidate from Patkura which his father represented several times in the state assembly.
One of the youngest candidates in the fray this time is Geetanjali Devi, the 28-year-old scion of the erstwhile Dharakote royal family and daughter of former MLA Nandini Devi whom the BJD has fielded from Sanakhemundi, where her mother had lost to the Congress’s Ramesh Jena in 2019. The sons of former Puri MLA Maheshwar Mohanty and former speaker Surya Narayan Patra are also in the fray this time.
Political analyst Shashi Kant Mishra thinks picking up young leaders is an effective way of not only beating anti-incumbency but also keeping internal rebellion in the party at bay. “Many of the leaders denied tickets this time are influential people and could have damaged the prospects of official candidates by fielding dummies. The party has avoided this by picking their wives and children. This way it can also take the credit for promoting women and the youth,” said Mishra.
However, notwithstanding all this, there is simmering discontent among BJD workers in certain constituencies where senior leaders have been denied tickets. While the followers of former minister and sitting Nimapara MLA Samir Dash appear to be in a rebellious mood following his replacement on the seat with a newcomer, the adherents of Barchana MLA Amar Satpathy are feeling let down after the party replaced him with Odia film actress Barsha Priyadarshini. Apparently aware of the undercurrent of discontent among workers and leaders in some constituencies, the BJD leadership has urged people to vote for the party instead of the candidate. The results will show whether the voters heeded to the advice.
