(From left) Pranab Balabantray, Pranab Prakash Das, Priti Ranjan Ghadei and Rajnarayan Mohapatra. Telegraph pictures

The local political arena is encountering a “son rise” this time. At least in four of the district’s seven Assembly constituencies, older generation has passed the baton to the new with sons contesting from the seats that once elected their fathers.

While three of these young faces carrying on their fathers’ legacy have been fielded by the BJD, one belongs to the Congress. Former finance minister and BJD stalwart Prafulla Chandra Ghadei’s son Priti Ranjan Ghadei, Rajya Sabha member Kalpataru Das’s son Pranab Balabantray and Janata Dal veteran Ashok Das’s son Pranab Prakash Das are contesting on the ruling party ticket. Congress stalwart Sitakanta Mohapatra’s son Rajnarayan Mohapatra is also in the fray.

Priti Ranjan, the outgoing MLA from Korei, is contesting from the Sukinda seat which his father, Prafulla Ghadei, represented in the last Assembly. Priti Ranjan switched to Sukinda from Korei, which he had won last time, after his father had been denied a party ticket this time. The Korei seat is being contested by Odia film star Akash Das Nayak, who is taking on Biswajit Nayak of the Congress and Sanchita Mohanty of the BJP.

Likewise, BJD vice-president and panchayati raj minister Kalpataru Das has passed the baton to his elder son Pranab Balabantaray after getting elected to the Rajya Sabha. Balabantray is contesting from Dharmasala, which has been represented by his father since 1995. He will face the Congress’s Srinath Mishra and the BJP’s Ramesh Chandra Parida.

Pranab Prakash Das, son of the late veteran leader Ashok Das, is contesting from Jajpur Assembly seat on a BJD ticket for the second time in a row. This time, he is locking horn with the Congress’s Santosh Nanda, a new face.

The three sons are banking not only on the popularity of BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, but also on the political legacy of their fathers and party’s strong organisational base. In case of Akash Das Nayak, son of eminent trade unionist Mayadhar Nayak, he will gain not only from his father’s organisational base, but also from his popularity as a cine star.

Former Badachana MLA Sitakanta Mohapatra’s son Rajnarayan Mohapatra is contesting as an Independent from his father’s constituency. He gave up his pilot’s job with a private airlines to enter into politics. He decided to enter into the fray after his father had been denied a Congress ticket this time. He is challenging outgoing BJD MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy.

The young leaders’ emergence comes as fresh proof of dynastic politics thriving in Odisha just as much as in any other part of the state. Whether they will be as successful as their fathers or fade away as footnotes in the state’s political history time will tell.