Raighar, Nov. 27: The Congress had planned to pit Bollywood actress Mahima Choudhury against the “desi” charm of Odia film star-turned-MP Siddhant Mohapatra on the last day of campaign for the Umerkote bypoll tomorrow. However, it did not work out.
Mahima reportedly declined to make an appearance at the last moment citing health grounds. Sources said the main Opposition party, which is locked in a triangular contest in the constituency with the BJD and the BJP, had also tried to rope in Madhuri Dixit and Govinda. But even those did not work.
With the high-voltage campaign in Umerkote set to end tomorrow, the Congress remains worried about Siddhant working his star charm on the voters.
The actor-turned-politician, who has a number of hit films, has been regaling the audience with his film songs and dancing his way through the constituency wooing both the tribal residents, Bengali settlers and others.
Admitting the need to counter the Siddhant effect, sources in the Congress said the party had made efforts to rope in Govinda and Madhuri Dixit after the bid to get Mahima failed. Senior Congress leader Satyabrata Patra said: “We tried to rope in a number of stars, but it did not click. At the last moment, Mahima refused to come citing health problems.”
Sources said the BJP, too, had planned to draft Hema Malini and Smriti Irani into the campaign, but the last minute plans did not materialise.
The progress of the campaign in Umerkote has made it clear that apart from Naveen’s popularity, the BJD depends heavily on the glamour quotient provided by Siddhant. Though nearly a dozen ministers and around 35 MLAs are camping at Umerkote, this has failed to make much of an impact on the electorate. The BJD second-in-command, Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, himself, has been camping in the constituency guiding the party’s campaign.
Siddhant, till recently the blue-eyed boy of Odia film industry, has risen to the challenge and is wooing the voters in filmi style. In meeting after meeting, he signs popular Odia film songs and breaks into a jig regaling the audience. The youth, chiefly college students, flock to his meetings and many are seen mobbing him for autographs. Mohapatra has been egging Siddhant to keep up his act. Giving company to Siddhant at most of the meetings is another actor-turned-politician Munna Khan.
With the campaign set to end tomorrow, state BJP vice-president Ashok Sahu said: “Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh is scheduled to join the election campaign on the last day. He will address a meeting at Raighar mini-stadium where Naveen had addressed a meeting the other day.”
The BJP is pinning hopes on Singh as Umerkote and Raighar are areas where the majority speak both Hindi and Odia, apart from a smattering of Chhattisgarhi. This is also the reason the party has roped in party workers from Chhattisgarh and deployed them at nearly 60 booths of the Raighar block. The Congress chief campaigner Jagdish Tytler has also been trying to strike a rapport with the voters in Hindi.
With the tribal votes likely to be divided among the BJD, the BJP and the Congress, the focus will also be on the sizeable chunk of Bengali voters, who can tip the scales in favour of any candidate. In order to woo this section of voters, the BJP is using the services of former minister Samir Dey while the BJD has engaged Aurobinda Dhali, who belongs to the community. The Congress has assigned the job of interacting with the Bengali voters to former MLA Nimai Sarkar.
With most of the Bengali-speaking voters concentrated in Kurapuda Haldi and Timanpur panchayats of Raighar block, these leaders can be seen making rounds of these areas every day.
“They will play a decisive role in deciding the outcome of the contest,” said a senior BJD leader.
