Jagatsinghpur: The election to the Jagatsinghhpur Lok Sabha constituency and its Assembly segments will be held April 29 during the fourth phase of polls.
However, the usual sheen is missing in the campaign in Jagatsinghpur Assembly constituency although just five days are left for the polling. Observers said that this is due to the infighting in all parties, the heat wave and the lack of coordination among party workers and their leaders.
All political parties are conducting roadshows, meetings and door to door campaigns, but that has failed to impress voters. The campaigning so far has been lacklustre, but was expected to pick up after the third phase of elections Tuesday.
This time the BJD has not fielded its senior leader Bishnu Das from Jagatsinghpur Assembly seat. Instead the party has fielded Prasant Muduli as its candidate and has fielded Bishnu Das from the Tirtol Assembly seat (reserved). Muduli is the incumbent MLA of Balikuda-Erasama constituency in the district.
The BJD’s decision to field Muduli initially drew opposition from Amarendra Das who was equally interested in the party ticket.
Muduli and Das later compromised after party leaders intervened. Muduli is finding it difficult to strike a chord with party workers as he is new to the constituency. He is taking the help of party leaders in the panchayat, block and Jagatsinghpur Municipality area and is campaigning among voters.
Political analysts said that although some BJD leaders have voiced their support for him, they might work against him in private. Notwithstanding the bickering in the party, Muduli is trying to take everyone with him, and make them campaign for him and the party.
The Congress has fielded incumbent MLA Chiranjiv Biswal. Even though it was decided that Biswal would be the party candidate from the seat, he started campaigning late, and now he is finding it hard to reach out to voters.
Biswal was quite confident after he came to know that the BJD wouldn’t be fielding Bishnu Das and so he started campaigning late. But what has come in his way is the widening gap between Congress leaders and workers. This has made it difficult for him to campaign in some pockets, but is learnt to have adopted a new strategy to reach out to voters.
The BJP has fielded Satyabrata Mohapatra as its candidate from this constituency. Satyabrata was earlier the DCC president, but joined the BJP after the Congress did not give him a ticket. The strategy of the BJD and the Congress seems to have surprised him.
All candidates have intensified their campaign through roadshows, street corner meetings and door to door campaigns. The sweltering heat wave has prevented candidates from visiting all villages in the constituency. Going by the ground situation it is difficult to say who will win ultimately.
PNN
