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| Political billboards in Cuttack ahead of the elections. Picture by Badrika Nath Das |
Cuttack, April 13: The BJD might be calling the political shots in the state, but its four-time Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has a tough battle on hand.
And posing a threat to Mahtab’s bid to enter Parliament for the fifth time are two first-timers — film-star Aparajita Mohanty and Samir Dey.
While the Congress hopes to make the most of Aparajita’s popularity, the BJP candidate Dey, who is a former minister and three-time MLA from Cuttack City, is banking on the Narendra Modi wave.
Mahtab hopes to counter the Aparajita’s celeb power with his party’s battery of Odia cine stars, including Anubhav who is a local youth and noted actress Maheswata Ray. Though he trashes the talk of a Modi wave, the rise in Congress and BJP votes could damage his prospects.
Another intangible adversary for Mahtab is a three-time MP Kharabela Swain, who is the candidate of the Aama Odisha Party.
Swain, who had represented the Balsore seat in the Lok Sabha as a BJP candidate, is seeking election from Cuttack this time. Known for his oratory, he has the potential to damage Mahtab’s vote bank.
“The Lok Sabha election in Cuttack has an interesting facet this time. There are people in the Congress who do not want their party candidate to win, but will not vote the BJD or the BJP. Similarly, there are people in the BJP and in the BJD who do not want their party candidates to win, but they will not vote for the BJP or the Congress. I expect them to support me in view of my track record as a Lok Sabha MP,” Swain said.
Swain, 61, joined politics leaving a civil servant’s job. He had won in 1998, 1999 and 2004 from Balasore. He was heading the Utkal Bharat Party in the state, but his merged with the Aama Odisha Party after his attempt to forge an alliance with the BJP failed.
The Congress leaders are upbeat as Aparajita has been drawing large crowds during her campaign.
“We hope that Aparajita’s popularity, especially in the rural areas, will translate into votes and put the party in a position to wrest the seat from the BJD this time”, said Prakash Behera, President of District Congress Committee.
Aparajita, 50, says: “I have served the people for the past 30 years through my films and they have loved me for my roles in reel life. I expect they will give the same response to me to play the new role in real life”.
The BJP Lok Sabha candidate Samir Dey had won the Cuttack City Assembly seat in 1995, 2000 and 2004. In 2009, he lost the seat after the BJP and the BJD severed their alliance. The party’s presence in the other six Assembly segments is minimal.
Dey, however, says: “The Narendra Modi wave sweeping across the country is present here too. It has enlivened the party workers. It is evident from the response to our party rallies and road shows in all the seven Assembly segments.”
BJP leader Nayan Kishore Mohanty, who is contesting from Choudwar-Cuttack Assembly seat, echoes the same.
But Mahtab is confident of winning this time too. “The Congress vote will be split. As for the Modi wave, it will have no effect here. I have serious doubts whether they can perform better than the 90,000 votes they had secured when they last contested alone prior to 2009,” Mahtab said.
Split in the Congress votes is understandably expected as former Congress leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has formed the Aama Odisha Party and has fielded candidates in all the Assembly segments.
“My leader Naveen Patnaik’s popularity, pro-people and development oriented government in the state is an advantage,” the BJD MP said.
The BJP had secured around 74,000 votes in 2009. Mahtab hopes to get the maxim votes from the Badamba and Cuttack Sadar from where he had secured 81,000 votes and 74,000 votes, respectively, in its total votes of 4.4 lakh in 2009.
The BJD has its MLAs in all seven segments — Barabati Cuttack, Choudwar Cuttack, Cuttack Sadar, Athagarh, Banki, Badamba and Khandapada — of this LS seat.
“I will vote not necessarily on party lines. Nor will I just consider the cine star potential as a candidate. I will vote for the candidate who has a clean image, represents the intelligentsia and has ability to represent us and our cause in the Parliament,” said Sandhyarani Sahu, 48, of Telenga Bazar in Cuttack city.
Lawyer and Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate Bikash Das says he will get votes of all those who want change in the political system.
Altogether 10 candidates are in the fray. While model, actor and documentary film-maker Jibesh Kishore Sundaray is contesting on a Trinamool Congress ticket, the other candidates include Pramod Kumar Mallick (BSP), Binapani Das (SUCI-Communist), Sabyasachi Mohapatra (CPI-ML–Red Star) and Sanjay Kumar Sahoo (Independent).