Odisha assembly elections: Patnaik to contest second seat from Kantabanji

The chief minister’s move, analysts said, is aimed at boosting his party’s prospects in the region in both the assembly and the simultaneous Lok Sabha polls.

Updated on: Apr 18, 2024, 07:14:15 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced that he will contest a second seat, the western Odisha town of Kantabanji, known for being the hub of annual migration of brick kiln workers of western Odisha to neighbouring states every autumn, apart from his pocket borough of Hinjili, repeating what he did in the 2019 assembly election.

The incumbent chief minister’s move, analysts said, is aimed at boosting his party’s prospects in the region in both the assembly and the simultaneous Lok Sabha elections.

Patnaik announced names of candidates of the party for the election to the 147-member state assembly, and his candidature from Kantabanjiin, which falls under Bolangir Parliamentary constituency ; both go to polls on May 20. Patnaik has already announced his decision to contest from Hinjili, a seat he has been representing since 2000. The assembly elections in Odisha will be held in four phases, concurrent with the elections in the corresponding Parliamentary Constituencies (there are 21 of these). Hinjili also goes to polls on May 20.

The five-time chief minister announced the names of eight other candidates including six women candidates for assembly election taking the total number of candidates announced to 126. Of the 126, the party has given tickets to 28 women, the highest so far among all the parties; most of the women are wives and daughters of sitting and former BJD MLAs or MPs.

In his two-decades long political career Patnaik never contested from two seats till he did so in 2019, from Bijepur , also in western Odisha . Amid rising acceptance of the Bharatiya Janata Party in western Odisha after the latter’s success in the 2017 panchayat polls, Patnaik’s strategy paid off as the BJD stemmed the rise of the BJP in the region. He vacated the seat two months later and retained Hinjili.

Western Odisha districts have five Lok Sabha seats and 33 assembly constituencies, and BJD strategists believe the decision of the chief minister to contest from the region will change the political discourse in the area and keep the growth of BJP in check at a time when most opinion polls predict that the national party could win more number of Lok Sabha seats in the state than BJD, a first. In 2019, the BJP won eight Lok Sabha and 23 assembly seats; the BJD won 12 Lok Sabha and 112 assembly seats.

Kantabanji is known as migration capital of Odisha due to trainloads of migrant labourers wholeave the state for neighbouring Chhatisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to work in brick kilns or construction projects. Local labour contractors dupe most of the workers into offering themselves for work as security against a loan they have taken or debt inherited from a relative. They then spend the next six months -- or more-- working to pay it back.

Party leaders said the chief minister fighting from an assembly constituency of Bolangir would not just impact the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat, but also Kalahandi and Sambalpur Lok Sabha seats which the BJP is keen on winning.

Renowned political analyst Rabi Das said it is a very courageous move by Patnaik. “The election in Kantabanji would directly impact the result of a dozen-odd assembly constituencies of Kalahandi, Nuapara and Balangir districts as well as Lok Sabha constituencies of Balangir and Kalahandi. It shows that Patnaik is not ready thrown in the towel despite many people writing him off over his advancing age,” Das said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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