Bhubaneswar, April 27: The Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency is set to witness a triangular fight with three major political parties BJD, BJP and Congress leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters. Jagatsinghpur will go to polls on June 1.
Despite the scorching summer, the candidates along with their supporters are reaching the people and holding meetings.
The BJD has again reposed faith in sitting MP Rajashee Mallick. The BJP has renominated former MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai, who unsuccessfully contested the 2019 elections. On the other hand, the grand old party Congress has fielded its veteran leader Rabindra Kumar Sethi, the former MLA of Nimapara. In 2009 elections, Sethi had contested from Jagatsinghpur seat and garnered 3.8 lakh votes as Congres candidate.
The Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat comprises seven assembly segments: Niali (SC), Paradeep, Tirtol (SC), Balikuda-Erasama, Jagatsinghpur, Kakatpur (SC), Nimapara.
The BJD has taken steps to strengthen its position by inducting former Congress leaders and appointing Chiranjeev Biswal as the election coordinator for the seat.
Despite its past successes, there appears to be some uneaseness in the BJD camp this time.
The party has changed candidates in four out of the seven Assembly segments, including dropping former ministers Samir Ranjan Das (Nimapara) and Raghunandan Das (Balikuda-Erasama).
The BJD aims to broaden its support base and minimize negative impacts from the Assembly segments.
In the 2019 general elections, BJD’s Rajashree Mallick won the Lok Sabha seat, securing over 50% of the votes. BJP’s Bibhu Prasad Tarai also got 3.84 lakh votes which is 29 percent of total votes.
Previously, Tarai secured 3.84 lakh votes in 2014 as Congreess candidate. In 2009, he was elected from this seat as CPI candidate. So, it is believed that he has own vote bank in this segment.
The Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency was created before the 1977 Lok Sabha elections.
Prior to 2008, there was a tough competition between the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in this region.
However, the entry of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by Naveen Patnaik, changed the political dynamic, leading to a triangular contest.
This time, Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency has witnessed significant political transformations, and the upcoming election promises an interesting contest among BJD, BJP and Congress candidates.
