Cuttack: With the General and Assembly elections in state round the corner, political parties have already started preparations for the polls. Hectic lobbying is on by aspirants from ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for tickets to contest the poll from Barabati-Cuttack Assembly segment.
BJD candidate Debashish Samantaray was elected from the Assembly constituency for two consecutive terms. Samantaray had defeated Congress nominees Suresh Mahapatra and Muhammad Moquim in the 2009 and 2014 Assembly polls respectively.
This time also, Samantaray is being considered as the frontrunner for the BJD ticket for Barabati-Cuttack Assembly segment. Apart from Samantaray, names of actor Arindam Ray, state Construction Workers’ Welfare Board chairman Subhas Singh and actress Barsha Priyadarshini, the spouse of actor and BJD Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty, are doing the rounds.
However, Moquim, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 polls from this constituency, is most likely to get Congress ticket for the coming Assembly elections. Moquim’s name has been recommended for party ticket to the Congress screening committee, sources said.
On the other hand, former minister Sameer Dey, youth leader Bishwajit Mohanty, Pradip Swain, Binod Das and Lalatendu Badu are also in the race to become the BJP nominee for this Assembly segment. Swain was the saffron party candidate in the 2014 elections.
“The Barabati-Cuttack segment was carved out from erstwhile Cuttack Assembly constituency in 2009. The BJD had won the segment twice since 2009. Before that, BJP won the constituency for three consecutive terms. However, both these parties have failed to solve the basic issues of Cuttack city. This time, people of the city would vote for the Congress nominee,” Moquim said.
The Congress leader claimed that he has no competitor for the party ticket for the Barabati-Cuttack constituency. “There would be a direct fight between the Congress and the BJD for this seat in the 2019 polls,” he asserted.
BJP leader Sameer Dey, however, claimed that he had undertaken various developmental works in Cuttack city during his tenure as an MLA as well as a minister. “There has been no development in the city during the last 10 years. I am interested to contest from Barabati-Cuttack. However, the party will take the final call on the candidature issue. I will campaign for the BJP candidate even if the party denies me the ticket. This time, we will win the seat,” Dey said.
BJP ticket aspirants Pradip Swain and Lalatendu Badu have also made it clear that they would abide by party’s decision on the candidature issue.
BJD MLA Debashish Samantaray, however, refuted the allegations of Congress and BJP and claimed that the regional party has carried out several developmental works for the residents of Cuttack. “The BJD government has taken steps to replace 60-year-old water supply pipes in the city. It has also launched a project to supply potable water to the people by treating the water from Mahanadi river. Many slum dwellers have been rehabilitated by our government. Five primary health centres have been opened in Cuttack during our tenure,” Samantaray said.
The BJD MLA further claimed that the state government has planned to construct a barrage on Kathajodi river near Purighat to conserve water. Samantaray, however, made it clear that BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has the authority to decide who would be party’s candidate for the Barabati-Cuttack Assembly seat. “The party is important for me. BJD would retain the seat in the coming poll,” he asserted.
BJD ticket aspirants Subhas Singh and Arindam Ray and MP Anubhav Mohanty have also expressed their readiness to campaign for the party irrespective of the candidature issue.
However, speculations are rife that the BJD may shift Samantaray to Paradip Assembly segment. It is also being speculated that the BJD may nominate him for the Rajya Sabha.
In a nutshell
The Barabati-Cuttack Assembly segment was created in 2009 by delimiting erstwhile Cuttack segment. It comprises 32 wards of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC). As per the 2011 census, the constituency has a population of 3,18,611, while 2,23,353 voters were listed in 2018.
PNN