BJD may field five-time winner Maheswar Mohanty again; actress Mahasweta Ray in race for BJP nomination
Puri: Political atmosphere in Puri Assembly constituency is heating up with each passing day. While sitting MLA and state Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty is quite hopeful that he would get Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ticket to fight the 2019 Assembly elections, several aspirants of the opposition parties such as Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are lobbying hard to get nominations from their respective parties, sources said.
Mohanty has won the seat five times consecutively. According to some political observers, Opposition Congress and BJP may find it tough to defeat Mohanty in the upcoming elections. However, many others feel that the Opposition parties may succeed in wresting Puri Assembly from BJD if they devise proper strategies against the regional party.
Mohanty, as BJD candidate, had defeated Congress nominee Umaballav Rath in 2014 Assembly elections. BJP candidate Krushnachandra Panda had secured the third position.
In 2009 Assembly polls, Mohanty trounced Rath, who had contested the election as a BJP candidate. Congress nominee Uttam Acharya was in the third position.
This time too, Mohanty has shown interest to fight the polls from Puri segment. “The party will take a call on the candidature issue,” Mohanty said.
It is learnt that Rath has shown his interest to fight the polls as a Congress candidate from Athagarh Assembly segment in Cuttack district. The Grand Old Party has failed to win the Puri seat for over 30 years. Congress candidate Gadadhar Mishra was elected from the segment way back in 1980.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) spokesperson Binayak Das Mahapatra and youth leaders Auroprasad Mishra, Bishwajit Mohanty and Sujit Mahapatra are in the race to get Congress ticket for the 2019 elections.
“I have been working for Congress for the last three decades. The party has appointed me as a spokesperson. I have a desire to contest the Assembly polls but the party high command will take a decision on the issue,” Das Mahapatra said.
Auroprasad Mishra said Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been giving prominence to youth leaders. “I was a member of NSUI national executive. I have been working for the student and youth wings of the party for the last 14 years. I hope that Congress would give me a chance to fight the polls,” he added.
Bishwajit Mohanty claimed that the Congress party is likely to select a youth leader to contest from Puri seat. “As a youth leader, I am quite hopeful of getting party nomination,” he said.
Sujit Mahapatra, however, claimed that he has been working hard to strengthen the party’s hold in Puri for last several years. “The party would select a young leader with a clean image as its candidate for the Assembly segment. I am certainly in the race for the ticket,” he said.
Sources, meanwhile, claimed that the Congress party is in talks with some other members and may field one of them as its candidate for Puri constituency.
On the other hand, names of actress Mahasweta Ray, Krushnachandra Panda and Prabhanjan Mahapatra are doing the rounds for BJP ticket.
“I have been working as BJP Puri district president for the last five years. I will obey the party’s decision on the candidature issue,” Prabhanjan said.
Krushnachandra, however, claimed that he has been trying to reach out to the masses for last few years. “The BJP Parliamentary Board would select the party’s candidate for Puri segment. As a disciplined member of the party, I would obey the decision,” he added.
When contacted, Mahasweta Ray made it clear that she has not received any communication from the BJP leadership pertaining to Puri Assembly seat. “If the party gives me certain responsibilities, I will try my best to handle it,” she said.
Amid all these assertions by the leaders of three political parties, many intellectuals and social activists have claimed that the residents of Puri city are yet to get proper civic amenities.
They are of the opinion that the city still lacks proper drainage system and better healthcare for its people. “The rainwater usually inundates many roads of the city including the Grand Road. Many posts are lying vacant at the district headquarters hospital and other PHCs. No party has taken any initiative to set up industrial units in the city to provide employment opportunities to our youths,” said Sachetan Nagarik Manch president Prasanna Kumar Dash.