Bhubaneswar, Nov, 19: As the assembly election approaches, the aspirants in major political parties have started lobbying for tickets. Particularly in the capital city, politics is getting hotter with each passing day. But in Bhubaneswar's north seat, the picture is not clear yet in BJP.
The names of three leaders, former MLA candidates Dilip Mohanty, Golak Mahapatra, and Yugyashnu Panda are doing rounds. In 2009, Golak and in 2014, Dillip were BJP candidates in this seat. In 2019, ignoring these two leaders, the party gave a ticket to film actress Aparajita Mohanty. Yuganshu Panda became an independent candidate in 2019.
In the 2019 election, BJP's strength increased compared to the 2014 election as the voting rate reached 35% from 22%. BJP's MLA candidate Aparajita Mohanty was defeated after getting 45779 votes. However, BJP lost to BJD by more than 25000 votes. After the election, Aparajita Mohanty was not seen in any party activities or programs.
Now Dilip Mohanty and Yuganshu Panda are active on the ground. Though Yugansu secured only 2 thousand votes in the last election, he is going around the localities and mobilizing the workers. His supporters say they are very hopeful of getting the ticket this time
Dilip Mohanty is also leading the party organization in the constituency for a long time. In the 2014 election as a BJP candidate, he secured 24971 votes. But he was denied a party ticket in 2019. Now he is active and also hopeful to get a party ticket in the coming election.
Similarly, Golak Mohapatra was a party candidate from this constituency in the 2009 elections. He secured 11,316 votes. Golak is very active in state politics. His name could not be excluded from race.
It is also rumored in the constituency that the BJP is looking for a big face to give a check to the ruling party this time.
