A hairy pledge to defeat candidate!

A woman in Orissa village has pledged she will not tie up her hair unless the (BJD) assembly candidate was defeated.

A woman in an Orissa village has pledged she will not tie up her hair unless the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) assembly candidate was defeated.

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Though Kabita Das, a housewife of Biridi village in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur, had voted in the last assembly elections for BJD's Bishnu Charan Das, she was this time campaigning for his defeat as the legislator was said to have completely neglected her region.

Das has won the Jagatsinghpur assembly seat thrice and is seeking re-election.

The second phase of the Orissa assembly polls are being held Monday, covering 70 seats.

"Bishnu (Das) has not even fulfilled the basic needs of the region. The roads and bridges are in a bad shape," Kabita said. "We had voted for him in the hope that he will bring changes in our region, which was the worst affected in the devastating super cyclone in 1999."

"I will vote against him this time. And I will not tie my hair till I hear of his defeat," she declared.

Kabita is not alone in her pledge. Her husband Bibhuti Bhusan Das, once a strong supporter of Das, said he would sell or donate his kidney if the BJD legislator won this time.

A group of people in the region have formed the Bishnu Hatao Abhiyan (oust Bishnu campaign) and are actively campaigning against him.

Das is opposed by the Congress candidate Lakshman Mallick.