With less than a month left for the elections, the rising numbers of aspirants for the prestigious Paralakhemundi Assembly seat have left the three main political parties, the BJD, the Congress and the BJP, in a quandary.
The Paralakhemundi constituency comprises Paralakhemundi Municipality, Kashinagar NAC and three blocks, Gumma, Goshani and Kashinagar.
The Congress, which holds the seat currently, seems facing difficulties in selecting a candidate. Apart from incumbent MLA K Surya Rao, Hi-Tech Group chairman Dr Tirupati Panigrahi and Paralakhemundi town president Basant Kumar Panda are in the race. Panigrahi and Panda have worked a lot in maintaining peoples’ contact and strengthening the party organisation in their own ways and are hopeful of getting party ticket.
The number of aspirants in the BJD is still more. K Narayan Rao, Reader Maruta Kumar Pal, Parala Princess Kalyani Devi and SWWS chief D Jagannath Raju are in the race. While Rao had lost the last election by a very low margin, Pal has a very strong organisation in the Gumma block. Kalyani Devi, who joined the BJD recently, has been in contact with people for long. As a head of a NGO, Raju has served people in different blocks during the Cyclone Titli.
Similarly, BJP district president G Venkatarabana, former president and State executive member Siddheshwar Mishra and last time MLA candidate and former Municipality Chairman Tripati Nayak seek tickets from the saffron party.