With the first phase of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha slated on Monday, people will decide the electoral fate of 37 MP candidates and 243 MLA nominees of various political parties.
The political future of many heavyweights of the BJP, BJD and Congress will be decided tomorrow in four parliamentary seats like Berhmapur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur.
The political biggies who are in the fray in the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat are BJP leader Pradeep Panigrahi, BJD Bhrugu Baxipatra and Congress leader Rashmi Ranjan Patnaik.
Senior journalist Ajit Sahu said, ”Both Pradeep and Bhrugu have changed their parties and contesting against each other. Both the leaders have become much-talked-about figures in the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat.”
The other BJD stalwart in the fray for the Berhampur Assembly seat is five-time BJD MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyaupattanayak.
The other leaders are BJD’s MLA candidate for the Gopalpur Assembly seat Bikram Panda and BJP’s MLA candidate and two-time MP Siddhant Mohapatra from the Digapahandi Assembly seat where former BJD leader Surjya Patro’s son Biplab Patra is contesting the poll on a BJD ticket.
In Paralakhemundi Assembly seat, three stalwarts who have locked their horns are sitting MLA and BJP leader K Narayan Rao, Congress veteran Bijay Patnaik and BJD leader and industrialist Rupesh Panigrahi.
The Koraput Lok Sabha seat will see a strong contest among Congress leader and sitting MP Saptagiri Ulaka, BJD’s new face Kaushalya Hikaka and BJP’s Kaleram Majhi.
In the Jeypore Assembly seat, Congress veteran and sitting MLA Taraparasad Bahinipati is crossing swords with BJD’s new face Indira Nanda and BJP’s Goutam Samantaray.
BJD leader and Law Minister Jagannath Saraka is fighting the polls from the Bissam Cuttack Assembly seat.
PCC chief V/S BJD stalwart in Nuapada
The Nuapada Assembly seat will witness a strong contest between Congress stalwart and PCC chief Sarat Pattanayak and three-time BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia.
In the Bhawanipatana Assembly seat, BJP stalwart and four-time BJP MLA is seeking re-election while Congress heavyweight Bhakta Charan Das is fighting the poll in the Narla Assembly seat.
The other political biggies whose fate will be sealed in the EVMs are BJD leader Puspendra Singhdeo from the Dharmagarh Assembly seat, BJD leader Dibyashankar Mishra from the Junagarh seat and BJD leader Adhiraj Panigrahy from the Khariar seat.
There are three heavyweights in the fray in the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat. They are BJP leader Balabhadra Majhi, BJD leader Pradeep Majhi and Congress leader Bhujabal Majhi.
BJD leader and sitting MP Ramesh Majhi is trying his luck from the Jharigaon Assembly seat while BJP leader Nityananda Gonda is contesting from the Umerkote Assembly seat.
'Anyone can win in Nabarangpur'
Political analyst Rabi Das said, ”There will be a stiff contest among three leaders in Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat. Anyone can win there. The BJP is trying to wrest the seat.”