BJP squabbles over candidates for important Jagatsinghpur seats

The BJP’s selection of candidates for the Assembly segments in Balikuda-Erasama and Jagatsinghpur has caused significant division within the party’s district unit and sparked worries about the party’s ability to remain united and win seats in the next elections.

Many local BJP officials are considering leaving the party because they feel ignored, despite having played a big role in bolstering the party’s base after the 2019 elections and the most recent panchayat polls.

The BJP announced its candidates on Tuesday: Amarendra Das for the Jagatsinghpur seat and Satya Sarathi Mohanty for the Balikuda-Erasama seats.

On that day, Sanjay Mohanty, a member of the state BJP working committee, gathered a group of local BJP officials from the Balikuda-Erasama Assembly seat. They pushed the state leadership to replace Mohanty as the candidate and even issued a warning against taking serious measures if their demand was not satisfied in seven days.

BJP flags are flown in representational capacities. The lone candidate facing strong opposition is BJP’s Nayan Mohanty in Odisha.
Speaking to reporters, the BJP leaders said that Manmohan Samal, the state president of the party, had given Mohanty’s ticket, despite the fact that Mohanty did not have an organizational foundation in Balikuda or Erasama. Furthermore, the leaders said he had no past political involvement in the region.

According to the local BJP officials, Mohanty is a bar owner in Gurugram. They even claimed that the state BJP leadership had struck a “deal” in order to nominate Mohanty in the seat. The officials of the party insisted that Mohanty be replaced as a candidate right away.

The party’s 2019 MLA candidate, Shashank Sekhar Sahani, was present during the news conference. Others like Sibabrat Das, Nirupama Swain, and Sasikant Parida’s attendance demonstrated the local leaders’ unified front.

Samal, the head of the state BJP, refused to comment on the event when contacted.

BJP flags are solely used for representation.
Disagreement about candidates who might ruin the Odisha BJP’s campaign in several seats
Since Amrendra Das just joined the party after the BJD refused him a ticket for the Jagatsinghpur Assembly seat, similar rifts have emerged over the party ticket.

As a candidate for the seat, Satyabrata Mohapatra, the head of the district BJP, voiced his displeasure with the party’s choice and made some vague allusions to future intentions.

Mohapatra is rumored to join the Congress and run for the Jagatsinghpur seat. He was a member of the Congress before, and while the names for the other three seats have already been announced, the grand old party has not yet announced its candidate for the position.