Sambalpur: Sambalpur is going to be one of the most watched Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha where both the BJP and Biju Janata Dal have put their best foot forward.
The BJP candidate, Dharmendra Pradhan, is a union minister and the face of the party in Odisha. The BJD has fielded its organisational general secretary and three-time MLA Pranab Prakash Das, known as Bobby Das. In the party, Das is considered to be the No.2 after chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
In 2019, BJP candidate Nitesh Ganga Deb won this seat by 9,162 votes. Deb is now campaigning for Pradhan in the Deogarh assembly segment, which he had represented before he became an MP in 2019.
In the past three elections, Sambalpur had given mandate to three different parties, all with a margin below 40,000.
In 2009, Congress candidate Amarnath Pradhan won by a margin of 14,874 votes, while in 2014, BJD’s Nagendra Pradhan won it by 30,576 votes.
Sambalpur is one of the largest Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha with seven assembly segments.
At present, the BJD has MLAs in four assembly seats, while the BJP has its members in three.
With two stalwarts contesting the elections, the people of Sambalpur are expecting a fierce fight between the BJP and the BJD.
Akshya Kumar Munda (28) from Nakti Deul village in Rairakhol assembly segment sees the future in the BJP, both in the Lok Sabha as well as in the assembly. “Throughout my life, my family voted for the BJD. But now we are routing for the BJP. There should be a change in the government,” he said.
As per Munda, Pradhan is a close aide of Narendra Modi and he can bring development in Sambalpur.
In February this year, PM Modi inaugurated the campus of Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur. Pradhan says that he wants to develop the constituency as a knowledge hub in the next five years.
“Sambalpur is the capital of West Odisha and it has all the potential to be developed as an educational and knowledge hub. An IIM campus is just the beginning. We will create more job opportunities for the local people in Sambalpur with all-round development,” Pradhan told ET.
Soudamini Bagarty, 42 years old, runs a tea stall in Sambalpur town. While she appreciates chief minister Patnaik for his work and schemes for the poor and women, she has equal liking for PM Modi when it comes to Lok Sabha election. “Desh ke liye Modi accha hai (Modi is good for the country). Naveen Patnaik has done much for the women and poor. I will vote for Padma (Lotus) in the MP and Shankha (Conch) in the MLA election,” she says.
Both the BJP and BJD are running a high-pitch campaign with the top leadership of both parties holding public meetings and roadshows.
Being a senior leader, Pradhan is handling his own campaign apart from looking after other constituencies. Union home minister Amit Shah also held a public meeting for Pradhan in Sambalpur.
For the BJD candidate Bobby Das, the campaigning is more about cluster meetings in rural areas and reaching out to voters through the cadre network. CM Patnaik attended a public meeting and, on Sunday, 5T chairman and senior BJD leader VK Pandian held a roadshow for him.
The BJP is attacking Bobby Das with an outsider tag while pitching Pradhan as the son of the soil in Sambalpur. Das is an MLA from Jajpur in coastal Odisha.
“Whoever wins, the fight is going to be very close and interesting to watch,” said Subikash Badhei, a small farmer in Athmallik in Angul district. Badhei claims to vote for BJD candidate Bobby Das.
The political dynamics of Odisha is going to be guided from the result of Sambalpur Lok Sabha as both contenders are top leaders of their parties and there is no other seat in Odisha where two state titans are clashing against each other.
Voting in Sambalpur is scheduled for May 25.
