Headache for BJD as support for rebel candidate grows on campaign trail in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: With less than 10 days to go for the Dhamnagar bypoll, trouble seems to be mounting for the BJD as the rebel candidate Rajendra Kishore Das is finding more support than the official candidate during campaigning.

The disgruntled party leader and workers’ padayatras across the constituency are garnering more people compared to the ruling party campaign.

The supporters of Das, who filed nomination papers as independent, have adopted a new method of campaigning. They are holding padayatras in the villages, which are being joined by a large number of locals. Das is fighting the election on the plank of self-respect of the Dhamnagar people which has put the ruling BJD in a spot of bother.

Around two dozen ministers, MLAs and senior leaders led by the organisational secretary of the BJD Pranab Prakash Das are camping in the constituency to campaign for the party candidate Abanti Das, the sarpanch of Tihidi gram panchayat as well as an active member of the Mission Shakti self-help group (SHG).

Though the BJD officially maintains that the BJD rebel will have no impact on the result of the bypoll and the party candidate will win by a margin of over 30,000 votes, sources in the party are now not so sure about the party’s prospects. 

A senior party leader maintained that the entry of the rebel candidate is likely to help the BJP and effort are now on to minimise his impact on the voters. Even if Das manages to poll around 5,000 votes, it will have an immense effect on the end result of the by-election.

 The BJP has fielded Suryabanshi Suraj Sthitaprajna, son of former MLA from the seat Bishnu Charan Sethi and is heavily banking on sympathy votes.