TV
With the date for the Jharsuguda by-election being declared, the three major political parties-the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress- have started flexing their muscles.
At a time when the murder of Jharsuguda MLA and health minister Naba Das is still a mystery, May 10 has been declared as the date for the bypoll to fill up the vacant seat.
One thing is clear the Opposition BJP and Congress have made strategies to fish in the troubled water. They are going to make deteriorating law and order situation in the district as their poll issues.
Two months after the assassination of Naba Das, a minor boy, named Samarth Agarwal, was kidnapped and murdered.
The BJP and the Congress, who are yet to announce the names of their respective candidates, seem to have left no stone unturned to make the most of these two incidents.
“The people of Jharsuguda feel that the BJD-led government and Naveen Babu have roles in making the district as the most crime-prone district. People will give a befitting reply to the party in the coming by-election,” said State BJP General Secretary Prithviraj Harichandan.
Similarly, OPCC President Sarat Pattanayak said, “The people of Jharsuguda district are dissatisfied with the present government. They want a change. In a day or two, we will announce our candidate.”
On the other hand, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is once again going to play the sympathy card. It has fielded assassinated leader Naba Das’ daughter Dipali Das as its candidate. Besides sympathy card, development is said to be another arrow in its quiver. It will create awareness about its achievements among the people.
In his reaction, BJD MLA Sashi Bhushan Behera said, “The Opposition party and the Congress are free to make any issue. But the BJD has the love and affection of the people. It seems to me that the poll may be one-sided.”
The Industrial town Jharsuguda’s main problem is unemployment. It has been alleged that local youths are being neglected when it comes to employment. Besides this, people are struggling with pollution caused by rapid industrialisation and its adverse impact on cultivation.
“Jharsuguda district is said to be a rich district. It is also known for the industries here. But, the local youths are not getting appointments in these industries. They are roaming unemployed. Elections will come and go, and the fate of the youths of Jharsuguda will remain the same,” rued Ajay Barik, a Jharsguda resident. Ratnakar Pradhan, another Jharsuguda resident, had the same complaint to make about the unemployment problem.
Notably, in the 2019 general elections, late Naba Das won the seat for the third time in a row by defeating the BJP candidate Dinesh Jain. While he was elected from the seat on Congress tickets in 2009 and 2014, he was elected from the same seat on the BJD ticket in 2019.
(Reported by Bhagirathi Sahoo, OTV)
