Ex-CM’s daughter Sunita joins BJD

BHUBANESWAR/SUNDARGARH: In a major embarrassment for the Congress ahead of 2019 elections, Sunita Biswal, daughter of veteran party leader and former chief minister Hemananda Biswal on Saturday joined the ruling BJD.

Sunita joined BJD at the Naveen Nivas in the presence of party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Though it is yet to be clear from which constituency Sunita will be fielded, informed sources in the party said she is tipped to be the BJD candidate for Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming polls.

As the BJD is working overtime to wrest Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat from the BJP in the ensuing elections, the regional outfit is looking for better alternative to take on Union Minister Jual Oram and George Tirkey, who is likely to be the Congress candidate from the seat. In the 2014 polls, BJP candidate Oram had defeated his nearest rival Dilip Tirkey of the BJD by more than 18,000 votes. The senior Biswal, who was the Congress candidate and sitting MP, was relegated to the third position.

Sunita, who was the working president of the Sundargarh District Congress Committee, belongs to ‘Praja Bhuiyan’ community and is married at Majhapada of Sundargarh.In Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat, the Bhuiyan and Christian communities with sizable votes play decisive roles. From 1977 onwards, candidates belonging to Bhuiyan community have won the seat thrice including Hemanand who defeated Jual in 2009. During the period, four Christian candidates have won, while Jual has been elected four times.

However, Sunita denied to have any particular interest for joining the BJD. “I will accept whatever decision the party chief takes regarding tickets to contest polls,” she said and added that she was drawn to the BJD because of women’s empowerment schemes like Mission Shakti. “The party’s commitment to 33 per cent reservation in Parliament is also commendable. KALIA scheme for development of farmers is equally impressive,” she said.

She joined BJD with hundreds of her followers. Welcoming them to the party, the Chief Minister said they will strengthen the party further. Hemananda Biswal, who is chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), however, said her daughter is an adult and she has every right to take her decisions. “She will campaign for BJD and I will campaign for Congress,” he said. Biswal’s two brothers Khirasagar and Bihari had left the Congress and joined the BJD during the last panchayat elections in the State.

Congress recently suffered a jolt with the resignation of sitting MLA Jogesh Singh from the party. Singh also resigned from the Assembly to join BJD.