Cuttack: Mahanga Assembly constituency in the district is likely to see new candidates from Opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 assembly elections.
Mahanga is represented by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Health minister Pratap Jena in the present Assembly. Jena had won from the segment in 2009 and 2014.
BJD nominees had also won the constituency in 2000 and 2004 Assembly elections.
In 2014, Jena had defeated independent candidate Sarada Prasad Pradhan by a margin of 27,874 votes. Jena polled 89,531 votes against Pradhan’s 61,657. Congress leader and former minister Shiekh Matlub Ali was in the third position with 22,297 votes while BJP nominee Samir Kumar Samal polled 3,572 votes.
However, the constituency has witnessed several changes in political equations in recent years. Pradhan had recently joined BJP and is hopeful of getting the party ticket in the 2019 polls.
BJP leader Choudhury Pravat Keshari Mishra, who had unsuccessfully contested in 2009, is also looking after party affairs in Mahanga. Both Pradhan and Mishra, however, claimed that they would work for the party irrespective of the candidature issue. “Winds of change are blowing in Mahanga. I am working hard to keep the public opinion with BJP,” Mishra said.
Pradhan claimed that BJP candidate would win the Mahanga seat in 2019. “People are dissatisfied with the BJD rule in state. They will vote against corruption in the coming polls,” he said.
On the other hand, state private bus owners’ association secretary Debendra Sahu has emerged as the new face for Congress in the constituency. Sahu was once a close associate of Ali. But he left active politics in 2000 following a tiff with the Congress leader. Political observers claim that Sahu’s disappearance from active politics was a major cause of Congress’ poor show in Mahanga.
Leaving the past behind, Sahu has been actively participating in Congress affairs in the constituency. He led a massive rally in Mahanga during the countrywide bandh call by Congress September 10 to protest frequent hike in fuel prices. In a related development, Ali has expressed his desire not to contest the 2019 polls. He has already conveyed his decision to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC).
Political observers are of the opinion that Congress may field Sahu from Mahanga in the coming polls. “My first duty is to bring all Congress workers together and make people aware of the corruption and misrule of the BJP-led government at the Centre and BJD government in the state,” Sahu said.
Amidst the allegations and assertions, Jena claimed that the regional party has further consolidated its position in Mahanga. “People of Mahanga have been supporting BJD and its leader Naveen Patnaik since 2000. Our party will win the coming polls convincingly,” Jena said.
When asked about his candidature in 2019 polls, Jena claimed that BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would take a call on the issue.