Sonepur: With election date approaching, all parties have geared up their campaigns in the Sonepur Assembly constituency of Subarnapur district. Candidates are campaigning door to door and holding election meetings.
Polling will be held in Sonepur April 18 during the second phase of elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned here for the BJP candidate April 6 while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had campaigned for the BJD candidate Thursday.
Seven candidates are in the fray in Sonepur including three candidates of the major political parties.
The BJD has fielded its sitting MLA and Water Resources and Urban Development Minister Niranjan Pujari here.
The BJP has fielded Ashok Kumar Pujari and the Congress a new face, Chittaranjan Mishra, in Sonepur.
Interestingly, Ashok and Chittaranjan are uncle and nephew. After 15 years they are battling each other again this time.
In 2004, Niranjan was elected from Binika Assembly constituency as MLA after a tough fight with Congress candidate Ashok.
After that Ashok was not given the party ticket from Binika. Ashok left the Congress and joined the BJP after the last panchayat elections. The BJP gave him the ticket this time.
Congress candidate Chittaranjan is a grassroots leader and was also the block Congress committee president of Dunguripali.
After the restructuring of constituencies in 2009, Sonepur became an unreserved seat. It was earlier reserved for Scheduled Castes. The constituency was a bastion of the Janata Dal and later the BJD after the 1990 elections.
In 2004, Binod Patra of the Congress defeated Kunduru Kushal of the BJD by a narrow margin. The late Kushal was elected from this constituency in 1990, 1995 and 2000.
In 2009, the BJD fielded the then MLA of Binika, Niranjan Pujari, as its candidate in Sonepur. After 2000, he won from Binika and Sonepur twice consecutively.
During the third and fourth terms of the Naveen government he was given important portfolios as Cabinet Minister as well as the post of Speaker.
There were no other hopefuls from the BJD for the ticket except Niranjan Pujari. But the Congress and the BJP had numerous applicants. There were four hopefuls in the race for the BJP ticket and Ashok got the ticket.
In the Congress there were three in the ticket race and Chittaranjan managed to get it. The dissidents inside the party are now posing a threat to him.
The BJP and the Congress are focusing on local issues in Sonepur. The BJD is banking on the development projects and welfare programmes of its government.
BJD candidate Niranjan said, “The people of Dunguripali block are seeing development here for 20 years and the people of Tarabha and Sonepur are seeing it for 10 years. Many projects are on like the Anga River canal extension work in Tarabha, the starting of work on the Sonepur ring road, mega lift irrigation projects, construction of a high-tech auditorium in the town and bridges on rivers like the Tel, Suktel and the Nibruti water body, widening of main roads etc.”
The mandate will certainly go in favour of the BJD, he added.
BJP candidate Ashok said, “The people here support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and welfare programmes. They are disgusted with the 19-year rule of Naveen Patnaik. There are no adequate irrigation facilities and farmers are in distress. Real farmers are not getting the benefits of Kalia Yojana. Corruption is rampant in Sonepur. The people are looking for a change.”
Congress candidate Chittaranjan said, “There is severe unemployment here due to the absence of industries. A few people, particularly BJD workers, are enjoying the benefits of government schemes. Farmers are not getting loans, fertilizers and seeds in time. They are also not getting reasonable prices for their produce. The Congress will waive agricultural loans if it comes to power in Odisha.”
PNN