Saranda: Polling will be held in Bargarh district April 18 during the second phase of elections.
Of the five Assembly constituencies in the district, Attabira is the most significant one for all the three main political parties, that is, the BJD, the BJP and the Congress.
With polling date approaching fast, candidates have geared up electioneering. The BJP has not been able to open its account in Attabira so far. Both the Congress and the BJD have won this seat once each after the restructuring of constituencies.
In the 2017 panchayat elections, the BJP bagged four of the seven Zilla Parishad seats in Attabira leaving the BJD far behind. The Congress was completely swept away in the panchayat election.
However, in the Attabira NAC elections, the BJD won all the 11 wards and gave a befitting reply to the saffron party. The Congress was defeated once again.
In 2019, winning Attabira has become a prestige issue, and the battle between the main political parties is gathering momentum.
The Attabira Assembly constituency comprises Attabira and Bheden blocks and Attabira NAC areas.
After the restructuring of Assembly constituencies, Congress tasted victory here in 2009. Congress candidate Nihar Ranjan Mahananda defeated his nearest BJD rival, Snehangini Chhuria, by 13,329 votes.
Milan Seth, who was a BJP ticket hopeful, was not given the ticket, and he contested as an Independent from Attabira coming third with 16,308 votes.
The then BJP candidate, Bipin Bhosagar, had got only 11,066 votes.
However, the political scenario changed in 2014. BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria defeated her nearest Congress rival Nihar Mahananda by 25,474 votes. Snehangini won with 69,622 votes and Nihar Mahananda came second with 44,128 votes. Milan Seth was given the BJP ticket in 2014 and he came third with 33,735 votes.
This time the three major political parties have fielded the same candidates they fielded in 2014.
Snehangini Chhuria is contesting as the BJD candidate, Nihar Mahananda as the Congress nominee and Milan Seth as the BJP’s candidate.
Apart from them, Rabindra Megha and Laxman Kumar Bhoi are also contesting from here as the candidates of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Paschimanchal Bikash Party respectively.
Snehangini, Nihar and Milan are all old faces for voters, and so assessing their capabilities will not be difficult for them. Voters are evaluating their performances, the image of their parties, their manifestoes, development works and their policies.
Giving his views, Khageswar Meher, a voter of Larambha in Attabira Assembly constituency says, “My vote will go for the party which works for the development of both the state as well as the country. The state government has launched many welfare programmes, but their fruits are not reaching commoners. Some development projects have been implemented in this region, but they are not up to the mark.”
Harjeet Jayaswal, a voter of Patrapali said, “I will vote for the party which helps farmers. I voted in two general elections. Most leaders make tall talks, but forget their commitments soon. They never come when farmers are in trouble.”
In fact, all the three major political parties are in trouble here. Many candidates are facing public outrage while campaigning. Some others are suffering the problems caused by bickering in their parties.
Even then all political parties are hopeful of reaching out to the public with their ideologies, policies and the development projects implemented by them.
Giving her views, BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria said, “Many welfare schemes and development projects have been executed in Attabira between 2009 and 2019. The assistance given to self-help groups (SHGs) by the BJD government will certainly help me. The Papanga Mahotsav and Gobardhan Mahotsav could create a new identity for Attabira. There are no differences inside our party and we are united.”
The BJD will certainly do well in 2019 in Attabira Assembly constituency, she asserted.
Congress candidate Nihar Mahananda said, “The Congress has declared in its manifesto that if it comes to power the party will waive all agriculture loans, hike the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2,600 per quintal and provide government jobs to at least one in every family.”
Voters are accepting our commitments and our workers are working very hard. We will do well in the 2019 Assembly elections, he added.
The BJP candidate Milan Seth said, “Issues pertaining to agriculture, unemployment, education, healthcare etc are coming up every day. The BJP should be given at least one chance. We are going to the voters with this message and they are being attracted towards the development promised by Prime Minister Modi. People are also strongly opposing the KALIA Yojana of the BJD government.”
He said the BJP will get the support of voters and emerge victorious.
Particulars of the Assembly segment
Total voters – 2,15,480
Male voters – 1,11,855
Female voters – 1,03,622
Other voters – 3
Total booths – 252
Sensitive booths – 24
Hyper-sensitive booths – 4
PNN