Aspirants for Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, particularly of the BJD, who are set to face the electoral battle in the politically-sensitive Baleswar district, are not happy with the poll dates.
They have expressed discontentment over the four-phase polling scheduled for Odisha while other States having more number of Parliamentary constituencies are going to polls in just one or two phases. They see a serious trouble as the polling date for Baleswar seat is scheduled on April 29, the last leg of election schedule.
They fear that they would not only be physically exhausted but also take mental strain in maintaining election expenditure limits as they would be campaigning for almost 50 days from the date enforcement of the model code of conduct.
“Firstly, we were expecting poll dates to begin around March 10 and polling in two phases like the previous election in 2014. it is not a surprise at all and we were prepared. A 50-day period will be strenuous to keep workers and supporters on poll-track,” quipped a key leader of the BJD.
The BJD, which holds six out of seven Assembly seats and the Parliamentary seat, is in campaign mode now. The party has prepared all strategies win all Assembly seats, Baleswar Sadar, Remuna, Jaleswar, Bhograi, Basta, Nilgiri and Badasahi, in big margins.
The other two major parties, the BJP and the Congress, were still searching for candidates due to internal conflicts. The BJD is also likely to change candidates in some constituencies.
Though names have not been announced officially by the parties, the aspirants of all the parties have started wooing voters with hopes to get tickets.