BJD supremo and CM Naveen Patnaik’s craze is still intact in the four Assembly segments of Jagatsinghpur district --Jagatsinghpur, Balikuda-Erasama, Tirtol and Paradip.
Jagatsinghpur is a general constituency which comprises Jagatsinghpur Municipality and Jagatsinghpur and Naugaon blocks. Dalit leader, former Minister, BJD district president and Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board Bishnu Chanran Das has a strong influence in the district.
The youth mass and the student community comprise 40 per cent of the electorate who strongly demand nomination of Amarendra Das for the Jagatsinghpur seat.
He is a former student leader and young advocate, who has been associated in the student and youth politics of the district over the last one decade.
Amarendra has been instrumental in electing student leaders from almost all colleges of the district during the college union elections.
Sources said that Amarendra too enjoys the confidence and trust of district BJD president Das and he is loyal to the BJD by every inch. “We are pretty sure that Amarendra Das is a strong candidate,” said district BJD vice president Dipti Das.
As regards Tirtol, it comprises Biridi, Raghunathpur and Tritol blocks. In 2009, Rabindranath Bhoi was elected from the seat while in 2014 Dr Rajashree Mallick was elected. But now the two BJD leaders have turned unpopular in the area with their alleged involvement in questionable acts.
Besides, they have failed to popularise the pet schemes of the BJD Government in the constituency. Political observers of the district therefore feel that in the prevailing scenario, Das would fit the bill. Biridi block which was previously in the Jagatsinghpur constituency is now in Tirtol constituency.
Das enjoys massive support of Biridi Block which is virtually an invincible fortress for him. In addition, Das has a support base in Raghunathpur and Tirtol areas too. Various organisations of Tirtol constituency including youths, students, farmers and women strongly demand that Das be fielded as BJD nominee this time from the Tirtol seat.
“Any machination to deprive Bishnu of a ticket for the Tirtol Assembly segment may spell doom for the BJD,” cautioned Rajkishore Khatua, a BJD loyalist and former president of Jagatsinghpur Bar Association.
As regards Balikuda-Erasama, sitting BJD MLA Prasant Muduli’s support base has taken a beating. It is learnt that Dr Damodar Rout who intends to fight from this seat on a BJP ticket is facing serious challenges from the BJP rank and file with one Raghunandan Das emerging a strong aspirant. Thus political observers feel that it will be in the advantage of BJD if it fields a new face and that too, a woman.
Notably one Basanti Pradhan, former Chairman of Erasama Block and former Zilla Parishad Member, who has her strongholds in Erasama and Balikuda, is a BJD ticket hopeful in the segment.
Paradip occupies a pivotal place not only for entire Odisha but also especially for Jagatsinghpur district. It was the former place of Dr Rout who has recently switched over to BJP. In that case the workers of Dr Rout are not going to support Debasis Samantray, who is an aspirant from the seat.
The voters of the constituency are now are confused owing to possible contest between Dr Rout from BJP and his son Sambit on a BJD ticket. Again, veteran trade union leader of Paradip Santosh Kumar Pattnaik has joined the race for the BJD nomination. Pattnaik has been working relentlessly over the last two decades for strengthening pro-BJD labour union activities.
Moreover, Pattnaik has a wide fan base. He has organised programmes like Jeevan Bindu and has created a record by collecting highest units of blood in the State.