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Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders who have been enjoying power in Odisha since 22 years are drawing flak from people while campaigning for their candidates for the forthcoming Panchayat elections.
From Mass Education Minister Sameer Ranjan Dash to IT Minister Tusharkanti Behera, senior leaders and Ministers belonging to the party were at the receiving end of public ire wherever they went for canvassing.
Videos emerging from Gobardhanpur under Baramba Police limits showed senior BJD leader and MLA Debi Prasad Mishra being hassled by villagers who questioned him on lack of drinking water and Awas scheme corruption in the area.
Bichitrananda Panda, a resident of Gobardhanpur said, “People are asking questions about the development of our village. The MLA is facing people’s anger in almost all the villages he is travelling.”
This was not the sole instance where Mishra was gheraoed. Earlier on December 28, 2021, Mishra reportedly faced the anger of party workers over distribution of party tickets.
However, Mishra denied the public outrage and said, “There is no anger whatsoever. As far as Gobardhanpur is concerned, I had called them on my own for their grievance redressal.”
A similar visual came from Nimapara where BJD leader and School & Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash was questioned by eligible people who were denied homes under the PMAY scheme.
And a similar clarification by Dash followed, “They all love me. Because of COVID situation some beneficiaries could not get homes under Awas scheme till now. They were just airing their grievances,” Dash clarified.
Tusharkanti Behera, Minister of State for Sports & Youth Services was at Boitakuda in Kakatpur on a bike when locals blocked road denying him entry into the village.
The villagers of Boitakuda were enraged over the dilapidated road to their village which has not been repaired since years despite repeated requests to the administration and leaders.
While Behera was unavailable for comments, a local said, “We stopped the Minister on the road and expected an assurance from him. But he gave us a slip and disappeared in the cover of the night.”
“We will boycott this election unless a road is built to our village,” he asserted.
Moving over to Western Odisha, BJD MLA Saroj Meher too faced embarrassment at a public meeting in Kandhenjhula under Belpada Block in Bolangir when people asked him over local area development and lack of basic amenities in the Panchayat.
While people in the know of elections and politics link such kind of public behaviour to increased use of social media, some intellectuals term it mass anger, arising out of the failure to keep the promises made during last election.
Social activist Jagadananda said, “The reason for such protests might be people are getting fed up with the politicians showing up at their villages only during poll time and remaining out of sight for the rest of the time.”
The three tier Panchayat polls will be held in Odisha from February 16, 2022.
The polling will be held with a gap of one day between each date on February 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24.
The polling will be held with a gap of one day between each date on February 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24.
