BJD vice-president and former Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai considers the denial of party ticket to him to seek re-election from the Sukinda Assembly constituency was a “great injustice” meted out to him.
He, however, did not directly blame party supremo Naveen Patnaik for depriving him of the re-nomination though all know that Patnaik was the sole party authority in finalising candidates.
Speaking to this correspondent on Saturday, Ghadai said that although he nourished the constituency for years with implementation of development works, his claim for the seat was “mysteriously” overlooked.
“I don’t know why my case was ignored. Pritiranjan Ghadai, the sitting MlA of Korei, was nominated for the seat. This unexpected development threw him an immediate challenge to get acquainted with the voters of Sukinda. He had his organisation in Korei which would have helped him conveniently win that seat,” Prafulla Ghadai, who is father Pritiranjan, said.
The senior leader, when asked who was actually responsible for the denial of ticket to him, sounded a little cautious. “Everything will be known in due course of time. let’s wait for the truth to prevail,” he said.
Ghadai alleged that although Pritiranjan’s Congress rival and former Minister Sarat Rout encouraged rigging in seven booths in Sukinda, the police and the Election Commission did not act.
“A reign of terror was unleashed in Sukinda. Although, we lodged police complaints, no action was taken against the culprits. It seemed that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to harass us,” he said.
It may also be mentioned that Prafulla Ghadai, who used to spearhead the BJD’s election campaign in the past, was this time kept away from the party’s campaign trail. And he had to keep himself confined to Sukinda to help his son win the polls.