Ticket race hots up in Nabarangpur

NABARANGPUR : HECTIC lobbying has begun for tickets for the four Assembly seats in Nabarangpur district as parties gear up for the ensuing General elections. If sources are to be believed, Congress is unlikely to field any new faces. Candidates who had contested  elections in 2014 will be re-nominated this time and in this scenario, former MLA Sadan Nayak, sitting MLA Bhujabal Majhi, Jyotindra Gond and Uladhar Majhi will get party tickets for Nabarangpur,  Dabugam, Umerkote and Jharigam seats respectively.

There are more than one aspirants in all seats except Jharigam, which is represented by BJD MLA and ST & SC Development Minister Ramesh Majhi. Political observers said the BJD may field new faces in all the four seats this time. Party supremo Naveen Patnaik is likely to give ticket to a woman candidate in either Nabarangpur or Umerkote. Sources said the BJD is contemplating to field Majhi from Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat. 

Manohar Randhari is the sitting BJD MLA of Nabarangpur and has been representing the seat for the last one decade. However, it is learnt that the party will be shifting him to Dabugam seat paving way for Manjula Majhi, former chairperson of Nabarangpur Zilla Parishad (ZP), to get BJD ticket for the segment. Manjula is currently the vice-chairperson of Tribal Development Council of the district. Zilla Parishad member and BJD leader Vedbyasha Bhotra is also also an aspirant for the party ticket from the seat. 

Dabugam seat has three aspirants. A section in the BJD is lobbying for Motiram Naik, Chairperson of Tribal Development Council. Prakash Majhi, younger brother of Ramesh Majhi, is also in race for Dabugam seat.In Umerkote, sitting MLA Subash Gond is pitted against Sanraj Gond in the ticket race. Both are from Gond community dominated Raighar block. Nabina Naik, wife of Subash, is also an aspirant. For Jharigam Assembly constituency Minister Ramesh Majhi’s brother Prakash is most likely to get the party ticket if the former is selected to  contest for the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat.

The BJP, which is claiming to give a tough fight to BJD and Congress, has few aspirants. In Nabarangpur seat, three names have come up so far who are lobbying for party ticket. They are Gouri Sankar Majhi, Birendra Pujari and Divakar Bhotra. Gouri Sankar had recently resigned from police department to join BJP. Birendra had unsuccessfully contested the last election as BJP candidate while Divakar was a former sarpanch.Sources said BJP is likely to give ticket to Nityananda Gond for Umerkote seat. He was also the party  candidate in the last Assembly election.