KENDRAPARA: Non-representation of Kendrapara in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Cabinet in the fifth term has left the leaders as well as workers dejected. Besides four MLAs, the district has also elected party candidate Anubhav Mohanty as MP. Mohanty dethroned Naveen’s bete noire Baijayant Panda from the prestigious seat which was once Biju Patnaik’s pocket borough.

The wins had raised hope among the workers of earning a Cabinet berth but it came crashing when Naveen announced the list on Tuesday. BJD won from four Assembly seats of Aul, Rajnagar, Mahakalapada and Kendrapara, while poll to Patkura has been postponed twice, following the death of its candidate Bedprakash Agarwalla.

Among the four winners are three seasoned leaders. While Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who won from Mahakalapada, registering a hat-trick, is a former Health Minister, Kendrapara MLA Minister Sashibhusan Behera is former Finance Minister and Pratap Deb won from Aul. Dhruba Charan Sahoo was elected from Rajnagar segment.

Despite being an outsider, Behera won the Kendrapara seat defeating Congress rival Ganeswar Behera by 6,320 votes. He was shifted from Jayadev Assembly seat in Khurda district, which he had won in 2014, and fielded from Kendrapara at the last moment.

When Biju Patnaik was Chief Minister from 1990 to 1995, Kendrapara district was known as Mantripada (village of ministers) as he had inducted three leaders Nalini Mohanty from Rajnagar, Bedprakash Agrawalla from Kendrapara and Bijay Mohapatra from Patkura in his Cabinet. Now, the coastal district has no minister which has led to fears of development works taking backstage.

“After the Patkura election the Chief Minister may induct some MLAs of the district in his Ministry,” Pradip Das, a lawyer, hoped.