Bargarh: There is a very high possibility of an intense fight between the BJD and the BJP in the Bargarh Parliamentary constituency like in 2014.
If the political scene here is observed it can be seen that the anti-incumbency wave is compelling voters to lean towards the saffron party.
There is strong resentment against the BJD as the state government’s programmes are not reaching all deserving beneficiaries.
The failure of the KALIA Scheme and other programmes announced for farmers by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik which are not being implemented properly may put the BJD in trouble.
Around 60 per cent of the population here are farmers and they have a decisive role in the elections.
The voters who have turned away from the BJD are now looking up to the BJP as an alternative. However, the position of the BJP is gradually changing here from what it was before the announcement of candidates.
The reason is that BJP ticket hopeful Subhash Chauhan was denied ticket and he has joined the BJD, and nine Zilla Parishad members of the BJP too have left the party.
The position of the Congress is getting weaker by the day. There are rumours that the percentage of votes which the grand old party had bagged in the 2014 Parliament elections might go down this year.
Orissa Post visited many areas in Bargarh Parliamentary constituency. When the OP team contacted Paban Pradhan of Jhulapali village in the Bandhapali panchayat of this constituency he said, “Naveen Patnaik is contesting from Bijepur for the Assembly, and I think that almost all voters will certainly vote for him as he is the Chief Minister. Besides, both the BJP and the Congress have fielded new faces as their candidates in Bijepur.”
Simultaneously, he raised the question as to how it will benefit the people of Bargarh as the CM stays in Bhubaneswar. Farmers cannot go such a long way to air their grievances. He thinks that Naveen will win not because of public confidence in him, but due to his money power. The Chief Minister has not fulfilled the promises he had given, Paban said.
“Moreover, nothing has been done so far on the Gangadhar Meher Lift Irrigation Project, which was announced by the Chief Minister. It was aimed at irrigating 10,000 hectares. Farmers have not yet got their crop insurance money too,” Paban said.
He added that the people might vote for the BJD in the Assembly polls, but will vote for the BJP when it comes to Parliamentary polls.
All the three major political parties have announced their candidates in the Bargarh Parliamentary seat.
The BJD has fielded senior leader and Rajya Sabha Member Prasanna Acharya as its candidate. But there is widespread resentment against him throughout the constituency.
Despite handling many important portfolios as Cabinet Minister in the state he did not do anything significant for this district. There are also allegations alleged that he tried to protect his own interests through family politics.
The BJP has fielded Suresh Pujari, a veteran leader from western Odisha, from Bargarh LS constituency. He is quite popular here.
But the people here say that the BJP committed a grave mistake in selecting its candidate in Bargarh LS seat. A businessman from Bargarh, Prasanna Mishra, said, “The BJP made a wrong move by not giving ticket to Subhash Chauhan.”
In the 2014 LS elections, BJD candidate Pravas Kumar Singh defeated BJP candidate Subhash Chauhan by 11,178 votes. But the success of the BJP in the last panchayat elections is attributed to him and he played a major role in strengthening the BJP in Bargarh district. Now he has joined the BJD and that has pushed the saffron party backwards.
Another voter, Prahallad Rana, of Haladipali village in Baraguda panchayat said, “I will vote for the BJP. Only 20 per cent of beneficiaries have got money under KALIA Scheme while most eligible beneficiaries have got money under the PM Kisan Yojana. So we have decided to give a befitting reply to the BJD. People in urban areas are already inclined towards the BJP and it has to try hard in rural areas.”
The Congress has fielded Pradip Kumar Debata in Bargarh LS constituency. But the party has failed to win the confidence of voters.
Recently, ex-MLA Sadhu Nepak, a stalwart in politics here, joined the BJD after he was denied the Congress ticket.
Lingaraj, a farmer leader of the district said, “The BJD has admitted many dissidents from other parties. Subhash Chauhan had helped 19 Zilla Parishad members to win and nine of them have already joined the BJD. The Congress waived agricultural loans and increased the MSP of paddy after it came to power in Chhattisgarh. So the Congress may keep the promise of Rahul Gandhi if it comes to power in Odisha. But the party has to properly communicate its message to farmers.”
The voters of Bargarh LS constituency consider Biju Yuva Bahini as a wing of the BJD and are sore with it due to this. “We are asking people to vote for NOTA as farmers will play a decisive role in the 2019 elections,” Lingaraj added.
PNN
