Pottangi: In a major political development that could have repercussions on the dispute over Kotia cluster of villages in Koraput district between Odisha and neighboring Andhra Pradesh, an independent candidate won the Zilla Parishad member seat in Pottangi Zone-1 after defeating the all-party sponsored nominee.
For the first time in the state’s electoral history, Odisha’s three major political parties – ruling BJD, opposition BJP and Congress – had fielded a consensus candidate Mamata Jani for the Pottangi Zone-1 Zilla Parishad seat. These parties had said they were fielding a consensus candidate claiming it would foil “evil designs” of Andhra Pradesh to tamper with the panchayat elections in the disputed Kota cluster of villages.
However an Independent candidate Tikai Gemel who was supported by the Dora community which speaks Telugu, managed to best the consensus candidate by a margin of 3,710 votes.
Gemel received 10,354, while Jani could get only 6,644 votes in the Zilla Parishad elections held under the three tier panchayat polls in the state.
Pottangi Zone-1 Zilla Parishad constitutes Kotia, Maliput, Deopottangi, Pottangi, Gangrajpur, Nuagaon and Sunki gram panchayats.
The people of the disputed Kotia cluster of villages cast 2,070 votes in favour of Gemel, against 1618 votes for Jani.
Odisha’s political bigwigs including Congress leader Minakhi Bahinipati, BJD leader Ishwar Chandra Panigrahi and BJP senior leader and former MP Jayaram Pangi travelled down to canvas for Jani. However, Tikei Gemel emerged as a dark horse and won the Pottangi Zone-1 Zilla Parishad seat surprising all.
In her reaction Gemel said that while Jani was a all-party candidate, she was a candidate of all the people of the Pottangi Zone-1 segment.
Senior BJD leader Rabi Nanda of Koraput said: “Gemel is also the daughter Kotia area. Therefore, it is expected that she will work for the welfare of the people and Odisha.”
Panchayat polls were also conducted in some disputed Kotia villages by Andhra Pradesh last year as the area is claimed by both the states.
In February last year despite Odisha administration’s objection citing a Supreme Court directive to maintain status quo in the disputed area, AP had conducted the rural polls in 2021.
The dispute over the ownership of 21 of the 28 villages under Kotia gram panchayat had first reached the Supreme Court in 1968.
In 2006, the apex court held that inter-state boundaries did not fall within its jurisdiction and only the Parliament could resolve the issue. In August last year, the Odisha government deployed police and erected barricades in Kotia after the Andhra Pradesh administration attempted to launch several schemes in the area.
PTI