BJD faces rebellion in two Bhubaneswar Assembly seats

Managing internal dissidence has become a major concern for the governing BJD in two of the three Assembly districts in the state capital, even as the lines of battle for the next elections have been set.

Political observers believe that even though the BJD has used the three Assembly seats—Bhubaneswar-Ekamra, Bhubaneswar-Central, and Bhubaneswar-North—as a stronghold over the last 15 years, the ruling party will not have an easy ride this time around because of the growing discontent over candidate selection in at least Bhubaneswar-Ekamra and Bhubaneswar-Central.

The BJD is facing opposition from Biranchi Narayan Mahasupakar, a four-time corporator, in the Bhubaneswar-Ekamra Assembly seat. Mahasupakar, who was vying with minister Ashok Chandra Panda for the governing party’s party ticket to run for the seat, has declared his intention to run as an independent.

Mahasupakar, who represents ward number 59, has the support of a sizable portion of the Lingaraj temple sevayat group, according to his supporters. In an effort to reach more people, he has also stepped up his campaigning in five of the segment’s panchayats: Basuaghai, Itipur, Tikarapada, Dhauli, and Sisupalgarh. Panda asserts that the Independents’ influence in the seat will be minimal, but analysts believe Mahasupakar’s vigorous campaign may cause the BJD to lose some of its support in the area, thus helping the BJP.

Internal dissension has also been a significant obstacle in Bhubaneswar-Central since the governing party nominated MLA Ananta Narayan Jena. A corporator who was eager to run for the seat, Amaresh Jena, is upset at the party leadership’s choice. In addition to engaging in a verbal sparring match for the ticket, Ananta Narayan and Amaresh both showed strength by reaching out to the party leadership at Naveen Niwas.

But ever since Ananta Narayan’s candidacy was officially announced, Amaresh has been evasive about his future course of action. His lack of response when asked whether he would back Ananta’s candidacy has only served to validate rumors that the two local leaders are becoming more and more estranged. This suggests that the corporator, who has widespread popularity in the city’s Badagada neighborhood, BJB Nagar, and Chintamaniswar, might lead to a rebellion, which would reduce the party’s share of the vote in the constituency.

Ananta, an MLA and the BJD’s candidate for Bhubaneswar-Central, denied the existence of rebellion, despite the party’s Bhubaneswar district president Susant Kumar Rout being unavailable for comment. He said, “We are one family and will continue to get the support of the people in each of the three Assembly seats.