Odisha: Chitrakonda will host a competition with many rounds
The 2018 votes in the Chitrakonda Assembly segment are expected to feature a multi-cornered contest due to the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) entrance into the race.
Sarat Chandra Buruda, a Congress politician and former police officer who was turned down for a ticket by the ruling party, has been nominated by the AAP. Similarly, in defiance of certain governing party officials and employees, the BJD has nominated Laxmi Priya Nayak, niece of Chitrakonda MLA Purna Chandra Baka. Dambru Sisa will run for office from the BJP. Mangu Khilla and Raghunath Hantal, respectively, have been fielded by the Congress and CPM from Chitrakonda, a seat designated for ST.
In the 2019 elections, Nayak ran against her uncle Baka in the Congress, but she lost. With 38,647 votes as opposed to Baka’s 41,192, she came in second. She left Congress and joined BJD in the same year.
According to sources, Nayak is the only female candidate running in Chitrakonda, where there are more female votes than male ones. This might aid the governing party in keeping the seat.
Sisa had already had her eye on a BJD ticket. He left the BJD and joined the BJP when the governing party rejected his candidacy. On a BJD ticket, Sisa was elected in 2014 from Chitrakonda. But the party had refused to provide him a ticket for the 2019 elections.
A prominent member of the saffron party predicted that by emphasizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accomplishments and the BJD government’s shortcomings in the state, the BJP will steal the seat from the BJD this time.
The Congress, which has previously won Chitrakonda at least six times, is also exerting every effort to take the seat. By emphasising the achievements of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government approach, the AAP candidate hopes to win over voters. Hantal of the CPM is attempting to win over voters’ hearts by charging the Congress, BJP, and BJD of ignoring the needs of the populace.
Political pundits predict that Chitrakonda’s election would be difficult this time around and that the multifaceted contest will further narrow the winning margin.
