At a time when the suspense over the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) still persists, it is further stoking dissidence within the ruling conch party.
With the 2024 general elections approaching, the aspirants have started lobbying for tickets. The situation has come to such a pass that they are visiting Naveen Niwas, the residence of party Supremo Naveen Patnaik, to oppose the repetition of tickets of the sitting MLAs.
A ticket aspirant from Tirtol Assembly constituency, Debendra Mallick visited Naveen Niwas today. Throwing down the gauntlet to sitting MLA Bijay Shankar Das, he has projected himself as the main contender.
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“I will win by a huge margin. Tirtol people are well aware of the present MLA. I don’t want to say anything more about him,” said Mallick.
A similar situation is seen in the Niali Assembly constituency. Here, Trupti Ranjan Behera has come out against sitting MLA Pramod Mallick and started lobbying for a party ticket.
“MLA Pramod Mallick is such a legislator who can’t even speak. I will get a ticket from the BJD and contest in Niali,” said Behera.
The situation in Nuapada is no different either. Here sitting MLA and Planning and Coordination Minister Rajendra Dholakia is facing opposition from within the party. Alleging his involvement in corruption, the group opposing him called for a Nuapada bandh today. They said if the minister gets a ticket they would put up a strong protest.
“We would like to request the Chief Minister that he should take action against Rajendra Dholakia for his whimsical actions and collecting 10 percent PC. If required, he should be expelled from the party,” said Saroj Sahu, state secretary, BJD.
Minister Dholakia retorted quickly and said, “The aspirants should apply for tickets. We should accept whatever decision party Supremo Naveen Patnaik would take.”
In Bhubaneswar, the situation is no better. In Ekamra, Central, and North Assembly constituencies, the aspirants have already started lobbying for tickets by forming parallel organisations, giving the sitting legislators headaches.
“I have been associated with the people of the Ekamra Assembly constituency. Today we submitted a request to the Chief Minister. I am confident my hope will be fulfilled,” said Biranchi Narayan Supakar, an aspirant for the Ekamra seat.
According to political analysts, the dissent in the BJD would escalate further if the BJP and BJD enter into an alliance as in that case, the BJP may field candidates in around 50 seats.
However, BJD’s assertion is that those who won’t get tickets will remain loyal to the party.
BJD MLA Nrusingha Sahu said on Saturday, “There is a possibility that some candidates may be dropped. But I don’t think they would turn rebellious. Those who are dedicated to the BJD would remain loyal to the party.”