The Nilgiri Assembly constituency witnesses a triangular contest for the April 17 elections, the major contenders being Pradipta Panda of the CPI(M), Kartik Mohaptra of the Congress and Sukanta Nayak of the BJD.
Although the constituency was primarily known as a base of Communists, Pratap Sarangi represented it since 2004. While in 2004 he won on a BJP ticket, in the 2009 elections he fought as a BJP-backed Independent candidate and emerged victorious.
This time, Sarangi is contesting as the BJP nominee for the Baleswar lok Sabha seat and in his place Susama Biswal has been fielded by the party for the Nilgiri Assembly segment. The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to retain the Assembly seat while the other political parties too are trying their best to win it.
This is for the first time that the ruling BJD has fielded a candidate for the Nilgiri constituency. In 2000 and 2004, the seat was allotted to the BJP as per the BJD-BJP coalition. In 2009 when the coalition broke, Pradipta Panda was the alliance candidate of the BJD and CPI(M). However, he lost the elections.
In 2009, Diptikanta Mohapatra was the Congress nominee and Kartik Mohapatra fought against him as a rebel Independent candidate. Both Mohaptras together polled about 34 per cent of the votes while Pratap Sarangi emerged the winner by garnering 30 per cent of the vote alone.
In the changed 2014 scenario, Congress candidate Kartik Mohapatra is trying to pocket the 34 per cent of the votes which he and the then party candidate Diptikanta Mohapatra had together polled in 2009.
Sukanta Nayak of the BJD has made a debut this time after quitting his job as an Assistant Engineer in the RWSS Department. A native of Nilgiri, he is heavily banking on the “popularity” of the BJD Government. But the party dissidents are proving hurdles in his path.
For the BJP, while its candidate is Susama Biswal, wife of late Birendra Biswal, a former district president of the party. She is also making all out efforts to win the seat, especially depending on the Narendra Modi wave. She is not in a comfortable position as her candidature was not accepted by several local leaders of the party.